Blossoming
by AsagariMelody
Summary: Embry has finally imprinted. Nadira is a beautiful young girl, but troubled by her sad past. Will he be able to break down her walls and capture her heart, as she holds his from the moment he laid eyes on her? Their struggle for love begins here...
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: ****Twilight is all Stephanie Meyer, I own nothing.**

**AN: **This takes place about five years after Breaking Dawn. The six wolves that phased right before the final battle may pass us by, from time to time, I've named them Nathan, Ryan, Sean, Caleb, Mason and Kyle.

This is my first attempt at writing a fanfic, so if you take the time to read this, thanks a lot! English isn't my primary language, so I'm sure my grammar will lack at certain points ;) Please forgive me, I'm trying!

This is an Embry x OC story, the OC being Nadira, she's all mine! I hope you'll enjoy it!

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Prologue

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POV: Nadira

~*~

We were driving towards my new "home", though I still had no idea where that was going to be. There was a family that had recently put themselves up for foster care, or so I was told, I would stay with them for six months and if everything went well maybe longer. Yeah ... like that's going to happen, they would be sick of me long before that. It's March 16th now, I'll be gone before April hits us.

I had been through a lot of foster homes since I was twelve, at least six now, or was it seven. "Poor girl, to lose her mother like that" and a lot of phrases of that nature were all I heard when people found out what had happened to me. My dad has been in prison for five years, the only good thing is that he will stay there for at least another ten years.

The reason I kept going from home to home was very simple, I did everything I could to disobey and cause problems. Trust me, being angry is a lot easier than being sad and hurt all the time. I hated being a victim, so I simply refused to be one. At my arrival in a new home the reception would be quite similar, they would see me and think "such a sweet girl". That was my intention of course, I became very good at using my appearance to my advantage, I really didn't look the bad girl part.

I was a bit on the short side with my 5'4", but what mostly made it unbelievable where my big innocent brown eyes, complements of daddy dearest, as are my dark thick curls. My dad… yeah, he's from Lebanon, as is his temper, which is quite middle eastern. Other than that, I looked a lot like my mother. Fairly light skinned just like her, although I do tan easily. But I was nowhere near as beautiful as she had been.

A few days after arrival I would start my routine, little things to get me going, see how they would respond. I took it as far as I had to with the exception of involving boys, I stayed as far away from those hormone driven idiots as I could. Boys would become men and they couldn't be trusted, I knew that from firsthand experience.

But I wouldn't back down from smoking, drinking or even drugs, and stealing of course, that was almost guaranteed to get me in to serious trouble. I would have to see what kind of people I would encounter this time, but I wasn't worried.

After a silent drive from Seattle I saw signs passing me, "La Push, never heard of it" I thought to myself, as we entered the village I took a better look. An Indian reservation? They've got to be kidding me! I'm not going to live here, not even for a short while!

I needed to get out of here, and fast! My thoughts were interrupted by the social worker who had been charged with my case, that was driving me towards hellhole that was my new destination.

"We're here!" she said with a cheery voice.


	2. A special name for a special lady

**Disclaimer: Twilight is all Stephanie Meyer, I own nothing.**

**AN: **As the story progresses, I will be switching POV between Nadira, Leah and Embry. Enjoy!

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A special name for a special lady

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POV: Nadira

~*~

Reluctantly I got out of the car, to retrieve my bag from the trunk. I glanced around from underneath my eyelashes, preventing me from looking curious or anything like that. Susan, my social worker, was walking up to a young looking couple, and gestured me to come over to meet them. Ok, here we go.

"Nadira, I want you to meet Leah and Tom, you will be staying with them for the next six months " she said to me when I joined them. Six months, we'll see about that.

"Welcome to La Push" Leah said smiling down at me. This was supposed to be my foster mom?

If she was ten years older me, I still would have thought she looked young, she was extremely tall absolutely gorgeous.

"Thanks" I replied, giving them my innocent puppy look.

This was going to be an easy one, they obviously didn't know what they were in for. Tom held out his hand to take my bag, it wasn't very big even though everything I owned was in there, so I was perfectly able to carry it myself, but I handed it to him anyway.

Tom started walking towards their house, it looked a bit small, but when I stepped over the threshold I realized it was much bigger than it seemed from the outside. In front of me was the elegantly curved stairs and from the hallway where we were standing there was a direct access to the large living room and the spacious kitchen. Instead of giving me a tour of the house Tom walked up the stairs.

"I'll show you your room" he said, and I followed him.

Behind me, Susan and Leah were walking through the doorway and headed for the kitchen, they were chatting as if they were old friends, who knows, maybe they were. I heard them talking and laughing but couldn't quite make out what they were saying, so I continued up the stairs where Tom was waiting for me. Upstairs we passed Leah and Tom's room and another room before we got to the room where I was going to be sleeping. I had to admit, it was a nice room with basic yet elegant furniture, an enormous window facing the back yard and lots of closet space, not that I needed it. Tom set down my bag on the bed.

" We will be downstairs if you need anything, you can join us once you've settled in" I nodded, not knowing what to say, as I watched him leave the room and close the door behind him.

When I was sure he was gone, I started exploring the room, walking to the window to inspect the view. Wow they had a beautiful back yard, full of flowers of various colors and sizes, further in the back, there was a clear pond, where I could see quite large fishes swimming around. When I turned towards my room again I noticed there was another door, which I had not seen before, when I opened it I gasped, I had my own bathroom! Still in shock I walked in to see that the bathroom was complete with a roomy bathtub, maybe I could stay just long enough to make sure I could enjoy a nice hot bath. Back in the room, I decided to unpack, when I was done after ten minutes, I decided to head downstairs.

Walking down as quiet as I could, I was trying to listen what they were talking about.

"So, as I told you before, she has caused quite a lot of trouble in the previous homes she stayed at, that's why I thought she would be better off here" I heard Susan say.

"Yes, I've read her file thoroughly, to be able to understand what I could expect once she got here " Leah replied.

Oh shit, maybe they were not as unsuspecting as I initially thought, I would have to try a bit harder then, giving up was definitely not an option.

"Do you like your room?" Leah asked as soon as I made it to the kitchen.

"It's fine, I suppose" I didn't want them to know how much I loved the room.

"Well, it's time for me to go. But I am sure you're in good hands here" Susan started getting up and turned to me, holding out her hand for me to shake, so I did, I didn't mind her leaving, this way I would get a better picture of who these people really were. I stayed in the kitchen while Leah and Tom walked Susan out, when I heard the car pull out, only Leah returned, I wondered where Tom might have gone.

"So let's get started" she said whilst rubbing her hands in wearing a huge sparkly smile on her face, I could tell she was excited about something.

"Get started on what exactly?" I really had no idea what she was on about.

"Oh right, I haven't told you yet! Now that you're here, you should meet everybody, so we need food and lots of it!" she already had her hands in the fridge to retrieve all sorts of products.

After that statement, I still had no clue what she was planning to do, but I understood this much, there was a lot of food to prepare and I was expected to help, I don't think so.

"Uhm, well , I'm not much of a cook really. So I guess it's better if I stay away from all this, if you don't want me to ruin anything" I smiled sweetly.

"Oh no, you're not getting off that easy. You will help, or you won't eat at all, the choice is yours!"

"Ok ok" I sighed, I was hungry already, so I really didn't want to risk losing my meal, what if she was serious!

"What do you need me to do?" better get started right away, so we could eat sooner rather than later.

"That's more like it" she showed me what to do, and before I knew it I was up to my elbows in marinated chicken, ugh.

~*~

POV: Leah

~*~

As we were walking towards the beach, I noticed Nadira getting more nervous, it became a lot worse when she saw the group of people that was gathered around the fire. She probably didn't realize I saw right through her tough girl act, that I didn't see that she was so afraid of getting hurt, that she refused to let anyone get close to her. I recognized her behavior all too well, she reminded a lot me of myself, before I met Tom. Despite our different backgrounds the way she isolated herself, was exactly the way I used to do it when I was a few years younger than I am now.

Remembering her reaction when I had told her about the bonfire, I was still laughing in my head.

"A bonfire, in the middle of March?! We'll freeze to death!" she squealed.

"You can put this on!" as I threw her a thick winter coat, I knew her last home had been in LA, so I had made sure to be prepared for her lack of appropriate clothing. Secretly I had made plans to go shopping soon, before she would be enrolling in school, because I had only gotten a few of the basic necessities.

Yesterday I had made sure everyone knew how to act around her, so that they wouldn't ask personal questions, not to push her in any way and most definitely not to make her the center of attention. She wouldn't know anything about the whole werewolf and vampire world, but since everything was quiet in that area, I didn't expect to many problems. Who knows, maybe one day she would be introduced to our other lives, but that wasn't very likely to happen.

A lot has changed since our encounter with the Volturi five years ago, Nessie had almost fully matured, people would put her at about 16 or 17, and she has grown up to be a sweet, kindhearted young woman. Jacob is very anxiously waiting and hoping for the day that she will be ready to be his, in the way that he wants her to be, we're guessing that it won't be a long wait.

Then there were Sam and Emily, their twin boys Rafi and Levi where almost 5 and they looked a lot like their father, Emily's belly was round with their third child inside her, she was due to deliver in May. We have worked out our differences and are almost as close as we where before, and I am happy with the way things are between us.

Next to become parents were Jared and Kim, they had a little girl Maya, who had just turned 4, she was a perfect mixture of both her parents in looks as well as in character. Paul and Rachel's little guy was about 1,5 now, walking around on still wobbly legs, he was absolutely adorable. Claire would be celebrating her 10th birthday in about a month, Quil was already planning a surprise party.

Some of the wolves haven't imprinted yet, they would date from time to time, but never anything serious. As far as I could tell, they were waiting to meet their imprint, and they were very cautious not to get too attached to anyone, so there would not be another Sam and me situation. Up until the moment where Tom had imprinted on me, everyone was constantly reminded of all the hurt an pain through both Sam's an my memories. Luckily I was able to let go and block my memories a lot better after that.

When we met Tom around five years ago, we were all completely shocked, he was actually the last one remaining from another tribe's pack, he escaped from a battle between a group of nomadic vampires where he was the only one to survive. He ran for days, not knowing what to do or where to go, until he accidently wandered into our territory, like us he never even knew about the existence of another pack beside his own. He had imprinted on me the moment he phased back to his human self, this was something we were all very surprised about.

Here we were under the impression that imprinting was to ensure strong wolfy offspring, but we all knew I wasn't able to have children. So why any wolf would imprint on me, was a question that still keeps me awake some inability to become a mother, had motivated us to put ourselves up for foster care, eventually we would want to adopt, but this was our first step. After all, we did have all the time in the world to figure everything out, since we were both werewolves. We had gone through a n extremely long and tiresome process to get approved as foster family, but we had eventually gotten there, and not long after that we received a call about Nadira.

The first call I had made then, was to my mother and Charlie, they have been together for 4 years now, and although they hadn't wanted to get married, Charlie had moved in with Sue and Seth. Both of them knew how much I wanted this, so they were absolutely thrilled when I had told them the good news, even Seth was happy for us, I could hear him screaming in the background while I was on the phone with them.

Now I was sitting on Tom's lap, watching this beautiful and unfortunately damaged girl, sit down between us and Claire, carefully glancing around from time to time. All the gruesome details about her background had been in her file, so I knew every horrific detail of what happened to her that night. But until I had earned her trust and she would confide in me on her own terms, I would not bring it up. Until then I would make sure she was safe and try to make her feel at much at home as I possibly could, hoping for her to become our newest addition to the family.

Not everyone was here yet, but they soon would be, so Rachel, Kim and I decided to get dinner ready, as Emily was about to get up we all protested loudly, luckily Sam was there to keep her with him, because she would never listen to us.

"Hmph, I am pregnant not an invalid!" she huffed at us.

"Oh come on honey, you know they mean well" Sam whispered in her ear.

I was about to call Nadira to come and help us, when saw her and Jake talking, oh well, I would find something else for her to do later, I reassured myself.

~*~

POV: Nadira

~*~

Well, this is totally intimidating, all these people gathered here were supposed to be a family, yeah right, nobody has that big a family. As Leah kept introducing me to new faces, whose names I would forget almost instantly, it was just too much to process all at once, it gradually became clear that they weren't blood related but just really tight with each other and considered each and every person here as part of their family. After a while I understood though, even as a person who never held much value to family, and why should I, I could feel the connection they shared and was surprised to come to the conclusion that I had never known or been a part of such a strong bond with others, and felt a bit jealous.

Still, even if I was able to recognize the ties, I realized I was unmistakably an outsider, they were all completely in sync with each other. Also given the fact that without a fair amount of sunlight I was quite light skinned, and I had only been in LA for a very short period, I stood out in that way too, between all these russet skinned people. And have I mentioned the fact that all the men here look like really tan Greek gods, I mean really it was ridiculous, they were really tall varying between 6'4" en 7' and muscled like they were hitting the gym 24/7. At first I thought it was just Tom, which would not have been weird at all, but all of them looking like that, adding their perfectly aligned sparkling white teeth in their smiles, it was beyond weird. Although normally I wouldn't care so much about not fitting in with any group at all, I wondered what was different now, I couldn't get my finger on it then and there, something to think about later perhaps.

Sitting between Leah on Tom's lap and a little girl, I think her name was Claire, I was slowly absorbing everything that happened around me. The girl next to me was pleading with the guy next to her "oh, Quil come on, please, please, pleeease!" pouting her bottom lip while she kept on looking at him. Yeah, like that's going to work on that big bulky guy, to my surprise I heard him give in to her "all right, come on then " he sighed heavily. Wow I really had to try that once, or maybe that was just for little girls, since I was 16, I didn't know whether or not that would work as well for me as it for her.

Suddenly I noticed the cooler full of beer on the other side of the fire, a bit behind the circle in which everybody was sitting. I got up as unnoticeable as I could manage, hoping nobody would pay attention to me. To get really drunk I would need a lot of those beers, but they didn't know that, so if I was able to sneak a few out of the cooler, I would just pretend, throw some on my clothes to accentuate the smell, and I would surely get in trouble for drinking as well as stealing!

Very slow and very quiet a kept moving towards the cooler, in the mean time I was making sure no one figured out what I was doing, which wasn't very hard, considering the fact that nobody paid any attention to what I was doing … or so it would seem.

Just as I reached inside the cooler, I heard a deep voice from above me.

"What do you think you are doing young lady?!" Oh no … busted. Tilting my head to see where the voice coming from, I saw a giant of a man towering above me, I swallowed hard to get rid of the lump in my throat, but it wouldn't budge.

"Uhm, uhm…" was al got out, and it didn't sound like me at all.

"Getting a drink?" I managed when had relocated my vocal cords.

"Yes, well, the soda's are over there" he pointed to another cooler, about ten feet further.

"Yeah, well, whatever" I said as I slowly regained a bit of my attitude, where had that gone flying off to?! My attitude was an important if not prominent aspect of my charade, I desperately needed it to keep up appearances, I couldn't let that happen again. A slowly wandered towards the soda cooler, when I glanced back, I swear I could see him grinning, great … that was just great, I was starting to get really pissed at myself.

When I reached the cooler, there was a girl standing besides is, I haven't noticed her before, but I don't understand how that's possible, she is stunning. She is very pale, I guess I'm not the only one, her chocolate brown scan me over as I am doing with her, her shining rust colored hair falls in ringlets all the way to her lower back. She is smiling widely at me, with also perfect teeth, it's really starting to get to me, I figure she is about my age, which could be nice if I would be staying for a bit longer.

"Hi, I'm Renesmee, but everybody calls me Nessie. Mister grumpy over there" she pointed to the guy that had caught me by the beer cooler "that's Jacob, he's really not that bad once you get to know him, but I'm sure you will find out for yourself. Here want a drink? " she handed me an orange soda as she waited for my answer.

"Uhm, yeah, thanks I guess. I'm Nadira by the way" I casually introduced myself

"Oh wow, that's a name you don't hear a lot around here. It's an Arabian name right, wait I know what it means, hmm, It's on the tip of my tongue. Yes, got it, it means 'one who is rare and hard to find' or 'precious one' right?"

I was totally blown away by this girl, how did she know that? I was just about to ask when I heard a low voice behind me.

"Oh, is that right? You must be a pretty special girl, with a special name like that!"

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**AN:** I would love to hear what you think!


	3. Imprint

**Disclaimer: Twilight is all Stephanie Meyer, I own nothing.**

**AN: **This chapter includes Embry's POV. So we can experience imprinting through his thoughts.

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Imprint

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POV: Embry

~*~

Still laughing loudly at my own comment, always had thought of myself as a humorous guy, I joined Nessie and the girl she'd been talking to. Since I hadn't seen her before today, I assumed this was the girl who'd be staying with Leah and Tom. As she turned around to face me, the smile disappeared quickly from my face. The moment my eyes locked with hers, I could feel the change, everything turning upside down and shifting towards her, everything around her seemed to vanish in to thin air. So this was what it felt like…

Somewhere in the distance I could hear a voice talking to me.

"Em, Embry! Snap out of it man!" I turned a bit to face Jake, who was chuckling at me.

"Wh What?" While glancing back at her, she was beautiful, I had never seen anything like the unique creature that she was, in my entire life. A light skinned heart shaped face, with two big dear like, amber eyes piercing mine with a slight blush complementing her high cheekbones, the corners of her full lips were slightly turned upwards even now that she wasn't laughing. Surrounding that gorgeous face were thick shiny dark brown curls, falling low over her shoulders, she wasn't very tall, but then again compared to us wolves no one was. On her face appeared a mixture of anger, surprise and embarrassment.

"Well, it was about time" Jake went on "come on, walk with me"

"But… But.. I have to…" I was unable to finish what I was saying, because Jake was already dragging me towards Leah.

"Hey Leah! Here you go, he's all yours!" Jake yelled out when Leah saw us coming, still with a huge grin on his face.

"What are you on about now" Leah asked him.

"Embry here just imprinted on your girl!"

"Well damn Embry, why did you have to go and do that for" she was really annoyed with me.

"It's not like did it on purpose, I didn't even want to be here, you're the one that made me" I muttered, and thought back to yesterday afternoon.

"_Why do I have to come to this bonfire again?" _

"_Embry, you know I don't like it when you make me repeat myself. I told you already, this girl has been through enough in her short life! She deserves a real welcome to the family, and as sorry as I am about it, you're part of that family, so you need to be there!"_

"_Sure, sure" I would never win an argument with Leah, so it was pointless to even try. She didn't specify at what time I needed to be there though I thought a little smug, I would arrive just as the food would be ready, my excellent sense of smell would help me to pinpoint that exact moment. As soon as the food was gone I would make myself scarce, she wouldn't be happy, but she wouldn't be able to do anything about it. _

Leah's voice brought me out of my thoughts.

"Well we'll need to talk about this, before you act on your impulses"

I thought about what she was saying for a moment and practically yelled at her.

"What are you implying Leah, do you think I'd make a move on her, she is still a child!" I was now shaking violently

"Yeesh, Embry, relax! I understand that you wouldn't do that. That's not what I meant."

"Perhaps you'd like to explain yourself then" I was able to calm myself a little bit.

"She doesn't trust anybody, especially not men, but she keeps everybody at a distance really. You'll have to be very patient with her, she's extremely fragile!" Leah explained.

Now I was wondering what had happened to her, to make her close off herself like that. Suddenly Jake interrupted our conversation, I didn't realize he was still here.

"Fragile huh! Well I would just like to warn you two, keep your eyes on that girl! Not even twenty minutes ago she was trying to snatch a few beers!"

"What?!" Leah and I both gasped.

"I took care of it. Just thought you guys should now" Jake added.

Leah and me were both dumbstruck, and just stood there for a moment, letting Jake's words sink in. Had she been trying to get a hold of alcohol on her first night here, well that sounded very promising, what would be next?

"Maybe an extra pair of eyes watching her, will come in handy" Leah mumbeled after a while.

"It will, I'm sure of it. And if she is going to be spending time with Nessie, I'll be sure to keep an eye on her as well" Jake walked back to the girls as he made this last statement.

"You'll have to try to be her friend first, be careful not to push her" Leah sighed eventually.

"I will Leah, don't worry, I will."

Hesitantly I looked at her "Uhm Lee, what happened to her, why is she like this?"

"Sorry Em, I really can't tell you."

"But you do know, don't you?"

"Yes, I do, everything is in her file and I have talked about it with Susan, her social worker"

"I is really that bad?" I just had to know.

Leah nodded in response "it's awful…"

Now we were both looking at this girl, wondering what the future had in store for her, praying that she would be safe that she would be happy one day. Of one thing I was absolutely sure though, it would be a fulltime job to keep her out of trouble, but nothing would be too big a sacrifice if it ensured the well being of my imprint.

~*~

POV: Nadira

~*~

"Who the fuck is that guy and what the hell is he looking at?!" it wasn't an actual question, but Nessie answered it anyway.

"Oh, that's just Embry. I have no idea what his problem is, and honestly I don't really care, come on let's get something to eat" she shrugged t off, like nothing had happened, but it had felt very weird. When I looked at him again, he was already being dragged away by his buddy, so I decided to let it go for now, besides I was very hungry as I hadn't eating anything since I arrived this afternoon.

Nessie was really nice, another thing that made me like her was that she didn't ask any awkward questions, she just let me be and talked about all sorts of things. I followed her to the table where all the food was stalled out, it was so much there were bound to be a lot of left over's, as I mentioned this to Nessie she chuckled and told me that it would be gone within an hour.

We each grabbed a plate and started loading it with food, she continued telling me about her family. Apparently she had 3 sisters and 3 brothers who were all adopted by her adoptive parents, Esme and Carlisle, they had all paired up and gotten married. It seemed a little unusual to say the least, but who was I to judge anyone's family.

She also told me stories of her and Jacob, as far as I could tell, she was used to spending a lot of time with him, which was a bit creepy, considering that she looked about my age and I estimated Jake to be around 25. But I didn't press the matter, tonight I would mainly listen and observe. Nessie seemed satisfied with my short and somewhat vague answers, when she would ask me if I was enjoying my food or what kind of music I listened to, she was clearly ok with being the conversing one in the time we spend together, this evening.

While she was talking I would use the opportunity to look at all the things that were happening around us. I noticed how Embry kept watching me, somehow in a different manner than Leah and Jacob were watching me, not creepy or anything but most definitely different.

As it became later everyone with children got their things together and headed home, one by one, they all came by say goodnight and said that had been happy to meet me and that they would see me soon. To Nessie all if this was obviously very normal, but every time someone stopped by, I couldn't help but feel a bit uneasy, luckily Nessie remained at my side the entire time.

"Let's go ask Leah if you can go shopping with us tomorrow" Nessie started pulling me along.

"Uhm, don't you have school tomorrow" because I arrived on a Thursday, I wouldn't be starting school until Monday, but Nessie would right?

"Oh, haven't I told you, I'm being homeschooled, it's really not as bad as it sounds and I'm free every day after 13:00! So, if you want to go, we could pick you up after, my sisters are coming too!"

"Sure, that would be fine" I wondered what Leah would think of her plan though, guess I was about to find out.

"Leah, can Nadira come with us when we go shopping tomorrow?" Nessie smiled her sweetest smile and looked up at Leah with questioning eyes. But just as I was expecting a definite no, Leah started smiling.

"Of course she can come with you! I was planning on taking her anyway, she needs clothes before school starts, mind if I join your little party?"

"Ooh, we'll have so much fun! We'll pick you both up around 13:30 ok" Nessie exclaimed

"Well that's settled then" Leah replied.

Next to her, Embry stood fidgeting with the hem of his shirt, desperately trying to look in the direction opposite of me, though failing miserably to do so. As Nessie and I sat down to discuss our plans for tomorrow, or rather so that Nessie could inform me of her plans for tomorrow, I heard Jake talking to Leah and Embry.

"It's a good sign that she's making a new friend isn't it?" Jake mentioned.

"Yeah, but she is only able to do so because Nessie is taking all the initiative. See how quiet she is, she just goes along with anything Nessie says" wow, that Embry was perceptive.

"Embry is right Jake, although I do think it will be good for her to have a loyal friend like Nessie" Leah added.

"Nadira?" Nessie brought me back to our conversation

"Sorry, what did you say?" I felt bad for not paying attention to her

"I was suggesting we swap phone numbers" Nessie already had her mobile in her hand.

"Uhm, I don't really have a phone, but I think it's okay if you call me at Leah and Tom's. Do you have their number?"

"That's ok I guess, and yeah I do have their number" she scribbled something down on a pink paper she had gotten out of her purse.

"Here's my cell and home number, call me anytime you want" she gave me a look that said, honestly any time at all, smiling at me sincerely.

Even while she had been the one doing all the talking, she had been paying attention to me, realizing that put a lump in my throat, and I just nodded my head. It only got worse when she threw her arms around me, pulling me into a hug. I felt tears burning behind my eyelids, but I refused to let them out, so I hugged her back and forced my tears back where they came from.

When it was time to go, I walked Nessie and Jacob to their car to wave them off. When they drove off, I quickly joined Tom and Leah, who were already walking slowly with their fingers intertwined, towards the village. Their house was nearby, so we just walked back, remaining in a comfortable silence as we did. We arrived about ten minutes later and I headed upstairs, looking back at them just a moment as I reached the top of the stairs.

"We hope you'll sleep well tonight, see you in the morning"

"Thanks and goodnight" I replied before heading towards my new room.

While I was getting ready for bed, I started to rethink my plan to leave as soon as possible. Maybe I would stick around for a few weeks, I also promised myself that I was going to have fun tomorrow. That was my last thought before slipping into a deep slumber.

~*~

Waking up was a bit disorienting, when I opened my eyes I didn't recognize the room I was in, I blinked a few times and tried to focus. Oh yeah, that's right, I smiled to myself, this beautiful big room was my new humble abode! I had slept surprisingly well, considering everything that was going on, must have been completely wiped out, as I glanced at the clock on my nightstand I noticed it was almost 11 o'clock already.

As I lay there I remembered last night, more specifically, that weird moment with Embry. I had barely been able to get a good look at him yesterday, but somehow I was perfectly able to picture him in my mind, and my, what a beautiful picture it was. What I could see most clearly were his eyes, they were not nearly as dark as most of the eyes I had seen last night, more a sort of hazel green mixture, an absolutely gorgeous combination.

But there was more to them than that, his eyes looked friendly, kind and, I don't know, trustworthy. Which was really weird considering the fact that I did not trust any men, at all, not a one. Still, I could not stop thinking about his eyes and the way they had looked at me last night.

As I went further down last night in my head, I remembered something else. Today Nessie and her sisters, would be picking Leah and me up for an afternoon of shopping, I was actually a bit excited. Nessie had made no sound of protest when Leah had asked to join us, so I figured it wouldn't be weird or anything having her with us.

My stomach made growling noises, so I hurried into the bathroom to take a shower, that long, hot, steaming bath would have to wait. Wrapped in a big towel and a smaller one twisted around my hair, I was digging through the few warmer clothes I had, our plans for today were more needed than I initially thought. As soon as I was done I slowly walked down the stairs, not knowing what to expect, I cautiously entered the kitchen.

"Well, good morning Nadira" Tom turned his head to look at me, while he continued frying something on the stove.

"Good morning" I replied softly.

I was really curious to see what he was cooking, it smelled like eggs, to my embarrassment, my stomach loudly agreed.

"Hungry are we?" Tom chuckled

I couldn't help but smile at him "yeah, kinda."

He took the pan of the stove and started shoveling scrambled eggs onto a plate and grabbed a tall glass of orange juice, which he both placed in front "enjoy"

"Thanks" I managed to get out, before I attacked the for me huge amount of food.

When I saw his plate I almost dropped my fork, was he really going to eat all that?! He casually sat down and started eating, completely oblivious of my gawking, so I returned my attention to my own breakfast. We had nearly finished eating, Tom already down to his second helping, when the back door opened and Leah came in.

"Hey Nadira, did you sleep well?" she asked while walking over to her husband, then she kissed him, right in front of me!

"Uhm, yeah thanks" I felt my cheeks turn beet red.

"Oh, you'll get used to it" she flashed me a huge white smile "so, all ready for today?"

"Uh huh" I nodded, while searching for a place to put my plate, when I noticed the open dishwasher I placed everything I had used inside, before wandering to the backyard, where I remained until Leah cam to tell me Nessie and her sisters were here.

At the very sight of Nessie's sisters my jaw dropped in astonishment, did everybody around here look like they stepped right out of a magazine cover? Though there were no similarities between the russet skinned giants and these glorious ladies except for a blindingly bright set of teeth, they were amazingly good looking in their own snowy white manner. After introducing, Bella, Alice and Rosalie to me, we waved goodbye to Tom and walked outside to a big red jeep the Cullen's had driven here and Leah's dark blue sedan.

"Since we there are six of us and we plan to do a lot of shopping, we thought it would be smart to take two cars. Also Leah informed us that she might not be able to stay with us the entire afternoon." Nessie explained when I was frowning my eyebrows at the two cars. Nessie and me got in the car with Leah, while the others stepped into the jeep.

We headed towards Port Angeles, there were supposed to be a lot of good stores there, which turned out to be true. After seeing at least 50 changing rooms from the inside, we agreed to be done for the day. Alice especially had been very pushy, as she kept putting clothes in my hands for me to try on.

"Wow, I'm totally beat" Nessie said after three hours of shopping. I still couldn't believe the amount of stuff Leah had bought for me, I'd have enough to last me about 10 winters, she still persisted that I actually needed all those clothes. She had also bought me school supplies and a very cute mobile phone, Nessie insisted that hers would be the first number to be programmed in it.

Leah had to go, she told me she had a doctor's appointment in half an hour, she would be taking the bags with her, so I would not have to walk around with all those bags, and I thanked her thoroughly for everything she had gotten me, even if didn't intend to take them with me when I left, it was still very nice of her.

"Hi guys! What are you doing here?" Nessie yelled behind me. Guys, what guys? I turned cautiously to see who she was talking to, I nearly broke out in hives when I saw Jacob hugging Nessie next to Embry, who stood there watching me. Oh no, this could not be happening, I had to think of some sort of excuse to run after Leah, but I couldn't think of anything quick enough. Jacob and Nessie were already in a lively conversation, as Embry cam towards me.

"How are you today, Nadira" I practically melted at the way he said my name, what was wrong with me!

"Peachy" I grunted at him, instantly angry, without apparent reason. While the rest was enthusiastically greeting each other, we just stood there, I glared at him while he was grinning at me.

"We're going to get a bite to eat with Jake and Embry, they will drive us back later" I heard Nessie tell her sisters. Wait what, I signed up for shopping, not for this!

"That seems like a fine idea to me" Bella agreed, so the goodbye's were rolling just after the hello's were done.

So now the four of us headed towards the food court, I made sure to stay close to Nessie at all times, as I caught Embry giving Jacob a whiny look, and heard him say something that sounded like "she's scared of me, what am I supposed to do now" Jacob just shrugged his shoulders, with a look that said "dude, how should I now"

Eating with them wasn't as bad as I expected it to be, with food around they didn't seem to pay much attention to anything else, which gave me the opportunity to take a closer look at Embry. Not that I was interested in him that way, eehw, he was way too old for me, although I had to admit he was good looking, not that it mattered of course. As the afternoon passed I relaxed a little bit, it wasn't anything conscious, but got more and more comfortable around Embry.

Another weird thing was that I didn't seem able to lie to him, no matter how small or unimportant the subject. For example, he asked me if I had eaten enough, and instead of telling him I was full, as I intended. I told him truthfully that I could still eat another burger. To make matters worse, he got up immediately, to bring me back a burger and a coke.

The ride back to La Push was filled with small talk, I was getting more comfortable around them. Even when Embry had made a joke about us being white faces, I couldn't hold in my laughter, no matter how hard I tried. It was the first time I really laughed out loud since I arrived, the others seemed to notice, because they all looked at me intently. It made me feel a little awkward, when even Embry locked his eyes on mine through the rearview mirror. It had actually been a lot longer before that, but they didn't need to know that I hadn't laughed for years.

Jake and Nessie were going to the Cullen house, so they dropped Embry and me off at Leah's, Embry said his place was only a few minutes from mine walking. As Nessie and I said goodbye, she caught me in another hug, just like she had last night. This time I wasn't surprised and hugged her back instantly, Embry watched their car drive of before turning his attention to me.

"Well Nadira, I'll see you around … special lady" he smiled at me.

"Yeah, right, see ya" I mumbled, blushing furiously as he walked away.

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**AN: **As I told you before, I love reading your reviews so leave me some ;)


	4. Hope

**Disclaimer: Twilight is all Stephanie Meyer, I own nothing.**

**AN: **Enjoy!

* * *

Hope

~*~

POV: Leah

~*~

"Ohw" I woke up clutching my belly in pain.

"Leah, honey, what's wrong?" Tom's voice was full of concern

"Oh, mmm, I don't know, my belly hurts, like …" suddenly a big grin appeared on my face.

"What, like what? Why are you smiling?" Tom's concern morphed into confusion.

"Like I'm getting my period!" I was practically jumping up and down on the bed with joy, the last time I had a cycle had been years ago.

"Are you sure sweetie?" Tom was afraid I would get my hopes up, I understood, but a woman knows these things and I was absolutely positive

"Yes, yes! I'm sure!" Now I was pouring kisses all over my husband's face, neck and chiseled chest, he was one fine specimen of the male kind!

"I'm going to take a shower! I need to call Carlisle to make an appointment and I need to get to the store" without a cycle a few products were missing from my medicine cabinet, they needed to be replaced and fast!

"Ok, sure honey. Mind if I stay in bed for a few more minutes?"

"No, Tom! You can't stay in bed, you need to make breakfast for Nadira!" I said heading towards the bathroom.

"Yeah, ok, in a minute" he yawned.

After I had gotten dressed, I ran down the stairs, while I heard Tom in the bathroom taking his own shower. I quickly grabbed the phone and dialed the Cullen's number.

It rang once when I heard a familiar voice "Hi, Leah!" Alice squealed on the other end.

"Good morning Alice, is Carlisle around?" I chuckled, she was always so hyper.

"I'll get Carlisle, hold on" like it actually took time.

"How are you Leah" Carlisle asked, within an instant Alice had passed the phone to Carlisle.

"Well, I'm great actually, I think my cycle is back!"

"That is very good news indeed. Would you like to come by this afternoon so I can run some tests?"

"Yes, I would, thank you. Could we make an appointment for the end of the afternoon? I'm going shopping with the girls"

"Sure, that's no problem, how does five o' clock sound?"

"Five sounds great, thanks"

"See you this afternoon then, Leah"

Just as we hung up, Tom came down the stairs, pulling me into a hug, we stood there comfortably holding each other for a while. As he pulled me back he looked at me, emotion was swirling in his eyes, there were no words for what we were feeling in that moment, I kissed him warmly before heading to the store.

When I returned Nadira and Tom were eating together in the kitchen, I watched them through the window for a while, they would be getting along with each other really well at some point. I was so happy right now, everything seemed to fall into place, I had done a complete one eighty from where I was six years ago. Mostly due to this impossibly sweet end patient man, now I hoped Nadira would someday be a the next permanent member of our family, hoped that she would learn to trust us and let us in.

Embry would have a large part in changing her life, it was nice to see the devotion and determination in his eyes when he looked at Nadira, she was aware that there was something going on, but not quite sure what that something was … yet.

After Nadira had finished her egg's and orange juice, she wandered through our garden, Tom and I were watching her from couch in the living room.

"So what time are you going to see Carlisle? Do you want me to come with you?" He had taken a few days off from work, he owned a garage with Jacob, Embry and Quill, so we both would have our hands free, to make sure Nadira could get settled in.

"I would like it very much if you came with me" I smiled my happy smile.

"Then I will" he said as he put his arm around my shoulders and continued watching Nadira strolling aimlessly around in the backyard. We sat there until we heard the doorbell, Tom went to open the door as I called Nadira to let her know that the ladies had arrived.

Shopping with the girls had been a good idea, they knew a lot better than me where to find the good stores and which clothes to buy, how to be totally dressed according to the current fashion. Nadira was a beautiful girl, not as thin as a lot of the girls were at her age, she looked like young women with all her curves already in place. But when she went in and out of changing rooms I could tell that she didn't realize how beautiful she was, in fact I got the distinct feeling that she thought of herself as fat, which wasn't the case at all.

When we were done, I let them know that I needed to go and said goodbye, I knew Embry and Jacob would be joining them soon to get a bite to eat, so I left without worrying about Nadira. Bella, Alice and Rosalie would be doing some lingerie shopping as soon as Nessie and Nadira left with the guys, they hadn't been informed of our plan, but they'd go along with it anyway.

I drove home as fast as I could, where Tom was already waiting for me, while he carried the shopping bags inside I got into the passenger seat, then we left for the Cullen residence. Carlisle had been our doctor ever since we changed, we had my mother for all the little things, but for all the complicated or serious things we went to , well we could hardly go see a regular doctor with our altered physique.

As we walked up to the front door, Esme opened it before we could ring the bell, she walked us to Carlisle's office with attached exam room, where he welcomed us.

"Leah, Tom, come on in, sit down" he closed the door behind us "let's see what's happening exactly shall we"

A urine sample and a few simple questions later, Carlisle concluded that I had been right.

"It seems to be that your cycle has indeed returned, I've also drawn some blood to do some more tests to be sure. Do you have any idea what initiated this sudden change?"

"Well, I have been phasing less the last few months, maybe that's it?"

"Yes, that would be a probable explanation. For now I advise you to keep track of the dates to try and determine if your cycle are regular. I can't confirm whether or not you ovulated, so I can't tell you how big of a chance there is that you might be able to conceive. As soon as I now more, I'll give you a call, which will probably be in a week or two" Carlisle stood up and shook both our hands, by now we were used to the ice cold touch of their vampire skin.

We held each other tight, as we walked back to the car, too overwhelmed to say anything yet, during the ride back home we were both very quiet. At home I plopped down on the couch and felt tears streaming down my smiling face, I still couldn't believe that maybe, just maybe I would be able to carry a child in my womb. Tom lowered himself onto his knees, on the floor in front of me, he took my face in his big warm hands.

"Please look at me Leah" I lifted my gaze to meet his, tears still rolling over my cheeks.

"I love you so much, no matter what happens, always remember that" then he closed the distance between us and caught my lips with his. The kiss started out slow and tender, but soon it became deep and passionate, I felt my heartbeat quicken and my breath getting ragged. Then we heard the sound of a car pulling up, and not much after that Nessie and Nadira were saying goodbye.

~*~

POV: Nadira

~*~

That first weekend was quite uneventful, I spend my time unpacking and washing the clothes we had bought Friday, that huge closet turned out to be quite useful after all. Leah had explained to me that I was responsible for doing my own laundry, besides that I would have chores, as fun as Leah was yesterday, she was very strict I found out now. From Monday until Thursday I would either have to cook or clean up afterwards, depending on what day it was.

During weekends and Fridays I would be excused from duties, so I would be able to meet up with friends, which was probably necessary because on school nights I wasn't allowed out of the house after dinner. There were a few other basic rules, and if I obeyed all of them in my first month, I would be rewarded with leniency.

Since I had a TV en DVD player in my room, I watched a few movies from the small house collection, not really my favorites, but fine just to pass some time. I spend a lot of time in the garden as well, it wasn't as cold as you would expect in March, this was a result of the thick tree line surrounding it, keeping out of the wind. Being by myself for the weekend was nice and possible because my new foster parents just let me be.

Sunday afternoon Nessie called to wish me good luck at school tomorrow. When I hung up, Leah called from downstairs that dinner was ready. When I was walking down I heard voices coming from the kitchen, wait there was a second male voice, I would recognize that low deep sound anywhere … Embry! Stepping into the kitchen confirmed it, Embry was sitting at the dinner table along with Tom and Leah.

"Hey Nadira, how are you doing today?" he asked looking at me. Oh my god! Those eyes should be illegal, I was barely able to form coherent thoughts after just one look at them.

"I'm ok" I managed after a few moments, what was he doing here anyway, he wasn't eating here was he? Leah answered my thoughts as if she could hear them.

"Most of the guys eat at Sam and Emily's all of the time, but since she is so close to her delivery date we decided to cut her some slack and divided her daily dinner guests among the others. Embry will be eating here for the time being, just until Emily is back on her feet again"

"Oh, I see" oh shit! How was I supposed to survive him looking at me like that, on a daily basis?!

"You don't mind do you?" he looked concerned and a bit hurt. Oh no, it hadn't been my intention to make him feel bad, guilt enveloped me.

"No, of course not, why would I mind?" there, job well done, my words made him relax visibly.

Dinner was usually very short, they all ate huge amounts of food within a very short time span. Embry let me eat in peace, perhaps it was because we were in the company of others, but he held back on staring and asking questions. When we were finished I walked to the backyard and felt Embry following me, we sat down on one of the benches, the initial strain I felt being around him, wasn't there anymore.

"Nadira, can I ask, you something?"

"You can ask, but I can't guarantee an answer "

"Why are you in foster care?" he almost apologized immediately after seeing the expression that appeared on my face as a reaction to his question.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, you don't have to answer that. I shouldn't have asked, I don't know what I was thinking!" I cleared my throat.

"It's ok, you can ask" I was going to give him an honest answer, but nothing more than required.

"My mom is dead and my father is in prison" thinking about my mother made me sad instantly, I felt tears burning in my eyes. He must have seen, because he put his arm around me and started rubbing my arm softly.

"I'm so sorry, little one" he didn't ask any further, but just held me, it felt nice.

He was so sweet and understanding, I felt my tears spilling over and started sobbing. He pulled me closer to him and wrapped his arms around me, gently stroking my hair and my back. He rocked me gently, as a parent would do consoling a child. Right then and there a bond between him and me was forged, he earned my complete trust. I wouldn't torture myself with the doubts that I had about men in general, Embry was different.

Monday morning I woke up knowing I would start school today, I was a bit nervous and hoped I would get through the day without too much weirdness, preparing myself for the expected new girl looks I would be receiving today. I got ready quickly and headed downstairs, I smiled when I saw that Embry was already here, talking to Leah who was behind the stove, Tom wasn't there.

"Hey Nadira, ready for school?" Leah turned around to face me.

"Could I stay home if I said I wasn't?" I cocked my head to the side.

"Nope" Leah answered sweetly.

"Yeah, didn't think so, guess I'm ready then" grinning I found my way to the table.

"Embry will be driving you to school this week, because he has the late shift at the garage this week and Tom has the early shift. They switch every week, so they'll each drive you every other week" Leah explained

"Taylan and Logan are in your year, you met them at the bonfire last Thursday, they'll give you a ride back whenever you need one" she continued

"That's cool " I looked at Embry to gauge his opinion on the driving arrangement. He just sat there, waiting for his food and it didn't seem to affect him very much.

We ate our breakfast and said goodbye to Leah when we headed towards his car that was parked out front, we got in and drove off.

"So how are you today? Are you really ready for all the teenage drama that is high school?" he made it sound like a joke, but still eyed me questioningly, motivating me to answer.

"Yeah, it's not my first time doing this you know" I sounded very sure off myself and I didn't lie really, I had done this many times before, so I got away with.

When we drove in to the school parking lot, two boys who were obviously brothers, were waiting for us, they seemed somewhat familiar to me.

"So Nadira do you remember Taylan and Logan?" he gestured towards the boys. Oh right, now it came back to me.

"Yeah sure. Hi guys" I extended a hand.

"Hi Nadira, just stick with us today and no one will bother you" Logan said shaking my hand in return.

"Yeah, either or both of us should be in your classes" Taylan said while taking his turn shaking my hand.

"Have a good time, little one" Embry whispered into my ear, before letting me out of a big hug. He said goodbye to the guys and drove off.

"Come on, let's go" Logan put his hand on my shoulder and turned me, so I had to take my eyes off the disappearing car and could follow them inside. It would be nice to have those two with me, that way I wouldn't be so lonely.

The day passed without incident, the number of curious looks were significantly less than I was expecting, that was mainly because Taylan and Logan send angry glares at anyone that looked at me longer than appropriate. One of them would sit with me in every class, so I wouldn't have to deal with any questions from others.

During lunch I sat at their table, where by now I recognized a few of other faces from classes as well. It was clearly a desired table to sit at for a lot of girls, because I could make out a lot of angry and jealous glares from girls at the surrounding tables. After lunch they kept up the routine we had established during the morning, only in gym things were a little different, but they stayed close none the less. It's really weird, but I kind of started to think of them as my protectors…

After school they dropped me off as promised, I thanked them and waved goodbye. When I came home Leah was already there, very anxious to hear about how my first day had been.

~*~

Within the next few weeks I settled into a comfortable routine, this contained mostly Tom, Leah, Nessie and Embry, we were really getting used to spending time with each other. Nut I still had this nasty, gut wrenching feeling that I couldn't shake.

School was nice enough with Taylan and Logan watching over me, I had even made a few sort of girlfriends. But it was nothing like the friendship I shared with Nessie, we got really close, she just understood me, besides I could ask her anything about her bond with Jacob, which mine and Embry's started to resemble.

Ah … Embry, there was definitely something weird going on there, for one thing he would be turning 24 this summer, I couldn't figure out why he would spend so much time with me. Then again the age difference was practically the same she would be turning 17 a few weeks after me and Jacob was only a little younger than Embry. No one seemed to notice this, Nessie could understand where I was coming from, but explained to me that it wasn't like that, at one point she even admitted that sometimes wished that he would see her like that, but he didn't.

After her honesty, I started thinking more of my sweet Embry, no wait, just sweet Embry, he wasn't mine after all. But he was always taking care of me, always considering my feelings, always going along with whatever I wanted to do. But in the same way Jacob wouldn't look at Nessie, Embry wouldn't look at me, they were always acting as if they were our big brothers or something.

Every time I pondered on the fact that I was lucky for once, doubts immediately cracked my positive thinking. Hello! It was me we were talking about, I had never been and never ever would be lucky. So it was just a matter of time, I decided, before something had to go wrong and screw everything up.

Then it came, the call…

"Hello" after three rings I picked up the phone.

"Oh Nadira, is it really you?" immediately I recognized the voice.

I was the one that made me scared of my own thoughts, the one that would send cold chills up my spine, the one I had hoped to never hear again.

"D-dad?" I haven't stuttered for years, but even through the phone fear consumed me.

"Yes habibi,* it's me, I only get 10 minutes so I don't have much time, I need you to do something for me" I heard his voice, but I couldn't decipher any words.

Instantly Leah was at my side, looking at me worried and questioning. She was asking me without words if I was ok and if I wanted to talk to him. I tried to make the words come, but I failed the simple task. So I remained silent and handed her the phone, being that afraid had a kind of paralyzing effect on me.

"Hello, mr. Yazdin, I think it's best if you don't call here again" I heard my father's thundering voice from the other end.

"Sir, if you don't calm down I'm hanging up the phone, right now" again my father's voice sounded, this time calm and coaxing.

"ok, I will tell her but she will contact you _if_ she decides to help, please don't call here again" with that she hung up.

She looked at me when she put the phone back in its place, she opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by Embry who came stomping through the door loudly. He stopped dead in his tracks and the smile fell from his lips the moment he saw my face. Then he came rushing over to me, holding me so tight I could barely breath, but I didn't mind.

"Are you ok, please Nady, talk to me baby" he held me for what felt like hours, but was closer to minutes.

"What happened? " he directed his question at Leah, since I still remained silent.

"Her father called from prison" she stated.

"What?! Why?! What does he want from her?" Embry was getting louder with each passing word.

"Actually" she hesitated before continuing "he wants her to testify for his early release hearing … he wants her to support him when they are taking another look at the evening her mother died" my head snapped to her.

"He wants me to what, has he lost his mind, I will never help him!" screaming at Leah.

"I hate him!" I added softly.

Nobody said anything.

Suddenly, as if I had just realized who was holding me, I pushed Embry away and walked up the stairs. Terror flooded me, early release hearing, what did that mean? Would he get out sooner? How soon? No he needed me to testify, so he would fail, right? What if he didn't actually need my testimony, but it was more of a, just in case, sort of thing? Was it possible, could he be released early?

Then the terror replaced itself with panic, what if he came here? I would never forgive myself if anything happened to Embry or Tom, since he was most likely go after the men in my life. Us mere women wouldn't be a real threat according to him, only an annoyance, so he would eliminate those that he would view as risk factors .

A soft knocking pulled me out of my thoughts.

"Nadira, can I come in?" I felt like my heart was breaking.

"No Embry, go away!" I let the words sound as cold as I possibly could.

"Oh, come on sweetie, please let me in, talk to me" he was begging me.

It was the hardest thing I ever had to do, but I did it.

"I don't want to see you or talk, leave me alone, never ever come near me again" tears were now streaming down my face, but I had kept them out of my voice. Outside my door I could hear Leah talking to him, though I couldn't make out what she said.

"No, no! Don't do this to me, I won't ever leave her, never!" he growled at Leah. Then he ran down the stairs and slammed the front door shut behind him.

A few hours later I heard my phone ring, the sound alone almost caused me to have a heart attack, I looked at the callers ID and saw it was Nessie calling me, I switched my phone to silent and put it away. Within 15 minutes the house phone rang, followed by Leah's voice and then knocking at my door.

"Nadira, Nessie is on the phone for you" her voice filled with worry.

"I don't feel like talking" that should do it.

It was very clear what I was doing, I was shutting everybody out again. Rebuilding the parts of wall that had crumbled down in the last month and a half. Trying to get some sleep seemed like a good idea, than I wouldn't have to think anymore, so I laid down on my bed and closed my eyes. But my head brain wouldn't slow down, finally after hours of stressing and panicking, exhaustion overtook me.

I woke up with a start, drenched is cold sweat, I hadn't had that dream in a long time. I remembered every detail though, in the dream I would relive every second the night my mother died. When I was younger it came almost every night, but the last time had been at least a year ago, but after today's events, I wasn't surprised that it had returned.

* _habibi_ - _Arabic term of endearment, like honey, dear, etc.

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**AN: **Hope you liked it!


	5. Action

**Disclaimer: Twilight is all Stephanie Meyer, I own nothing.**

**AN: **Here you go, this chapter included Nessie's pov, hope you like it! Must warn you, she's a bit bossy :)

* * *

Action

~*~

POV: Nessie

~*~

"Jake! Jacob, are you home?!" I walked down the stairs, wondering who was yelling so loudly, only to find a frantic Embry in the doorway.

"Embry, what's going on?"

"Sorry Nessie, I really need to talk to Jake, do you know where he is?" no longer yelling, but still obviously upset.

"He went to the store, he'll be back any minute now. What happened Embry?" I eyed him flopped down on the couch, putting his face in his hands.

"It's Nadira, she's totally gone in isolation" He looked up at me sadly.

"Her father called today, I think …" he didn't finish.

"What, Embry? You think what?" this was unbearable, why won't he just say what he's talking about.

"I think he is responsible for her mother's death" he spoke very softly, I could hardly hear him.

"What?" my jaw dropped, had her father ended her mother's life, no that can't be true, it must have been an accident.

"That's not even all, he wants her to testify so that he can get released earlier!" his voice grew loud again. Processing everything he told me, I suddenly realized what this meant for my best friend.

"So Nadira has put up all of her defenses again" it wasn't a question.

Now I understood the horrible look on his face, he cared so much about her, all he wanted to do was help, and she had shut him out, I could practically see his heart breaking.

"Nessie, I'm back" Jacob called while shutting the door behind him.

He threw me a questioning look, when he saw Embry sitting so lost on the couch. I gestured him to follow him into the kitchen, while we put away the groceries I explained what had happened, or what I knew at least. As soon as I was finished he sat down besides Embry, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"You'll work it out, we'll help, I promise" he assured him.

"This is terrible Jake, I don't know what to do, I need to fix it but I don't know how. I need her Jake, I need to be around her, I can't stand this!"

"I know, I know" Jake said reassuringly .

Ok, that was it, something had to be done. Grabbing my phone I went into the kitchen, where I dialed Nadira's number. She didn't pick up, so I called again, again and again… Then I searched for Leah's number and waited for her to pick up.

"_Hello?" _Leah answered the phone.

"Hi Leah, this is Nessie, I heard what happened, can I talk to her?"

"_I'll tell her your on the phone, but I don't think she will speak to you, she hasn't talked to anybody since he called … not even Embry" _she replied sadly.

I heard her going to Nadira and pleading with her to talk to me, but she wouldn't budge.

"_I'm sorry Nessie" _Leah said with a deep sigh.

"Yeah well, we're not going to leave it at that!" I wouldn't stop trying not ever, she and I had become so close, I had to get her through this, she would do the same for me.

"Can we meet up at your house? I'll bring Embry and Jacob, we'll figure something out!"

"_Sure Nessie, but what are you suggesting?" _Leah was truly confused.

"I don't know yet, but I will, see you in half an hour" I was determined to help her.

"_Ok, bye Nessie"_ with a click the conversation ended.

Jacob was still trying to convince Embry that everything would be ok.

"Not like this it won't!" they turned their heads to me in surprise.

"What do you mean?" Embry asked me.

"How do you intend to fix things if you're sitting here feeling sorry for yourself!" I said fiercely.

"Nessie!" Jacob hissed.

"I know it's harsh, but it's the truth. Now come on, we're going to Leah and Tom's to work out a strategy" I was already walking out the door, when I heard them following.

Sitting down in the kitchen table, we started discussing the past hours and what we needed to do, we kept our voices low. We were with four wolves and one half vampire, so hearing each other while making barely a sound was no problem at all. Leah finally agreed to fill us in on what she knew about Nadira's childhood and her life in foster care.

She told us that she had lived in New York with both her parents, her file started from the tender age of 6 years old. That is when teachers and doctors had begun to notice something was wrong. By the time she was 9 the neighbors had called the police, telling them that he was at it again, he being her father. This was not the first time either, they said, but it was worse this time.

Not only did they hear the mother scream but the daughter as well, so they decided to call them. Both Nadira and her mother had been taken to the emergency room with a few broken ribs and other bruised body parts, but legal actions could be taken, since her mother refused to press charges.

Then one night, she had been 12 then, when the cops arrived at their apartment her mother was unconscious on the floor and Nadira was in a corner of the room on her knees rocking back and forth. Her mother was so severely beaten that she didn't survive her injuries and died in the hospital that night. Her father was convicted for the murder of his wife, since all the physical evidence had pointed towards him.

Nadira hadn't said a single word after that night for two whole weeks and even when she started talking again she never spoke of that night again. She went from foster home to foster home, each stay shorter than the one before. She started acting out, her behavior got worse until the family where she was staying couldn't take it anymore.

At this point she would be placed with a new family and the whole thing would start over again, only each time it took her less and less time to complete the process. This way nobody would ever get close to her.

Her stay in La Push had been her most successful one so far, but even though she didn't get herself into trouble, she never acknowledged her problems, so she hadn't made any progress with them, she had let nobody in on that level. She had just begun to trust us, we still had a long way to go.

While Leah told Nadira's sad life story I had started crying silently, by the time she was finished I was sobbing into Jacob's chest. Embry was torn between sadness and anger, he would shake violently from time to time.

After a few hours of contemplating our options, we worked out a plan. Leah would try to find out more about Nadira's father and what he was planning, meanwhile we would all keep pushing Nadira to talk, to laugh, to get her going again. It was simple, but most likely to be effective.

The next few weeks were terrible, Nadira would go to school, do what was required of her, but nothing more than that, she kept pushing us away. She was looking worse and more tired with everyday that passed, Leah said she was having nightmares, but she refused to talk about them.

Leah had required a lot of new information though, she had even hired a lawyer to find out how good a case her father had. Because Nadira was the only one who had actually been there and hadn't made statement, there were now eyewitnesses, so with Nadira testifying to his innocence he hoped to overrule al the circumstantial evidence. She had repeatedly spoken to Susan and her lawyer about this, the conclusion was that he would very likely be unsuccessful in reaching his goal.

So we decided to have a sit down with Nadira, so she would feel safe again, or at least less scared, so she could go back to where she was before he called.

~*~

POV: Embry

~*~

The plan was as followed, Leah and Tom would try to gain Intel on what her dad was up too, and we would keep prodding and poking at her, hoping to get her back to where she was before her dad called.

So I tried, when it was my week to drive her to school I would ask her how she was, about school and everything else I could think of, and she answered me, as short and uninterested as was possible. Sometimes I would put my arm around her shoulders or try to hug her, but she always pushed me away, it tore me apart to see her like this, she was hurting and wouldn't let me help. Days turned into weeks, while the circles under her eyes became darker as time went by.

Leah and Tom were able to find out that her father's case was a lost cause, we figured it would help her if she knew that. We decided that we would be waiting for Nadira, when she came home from school this Friday.

So here we were, sitting at the kitchen table, waiting for her to get here.

~*~

POV: Nadira

~*~

When I got home the five of them were sitting at the kitchen table, what is this some sort of intervention?

"Ah, Nadira, you're here, why don't you sit down" my head turned to Leah, questioning her with my eyes.

"Actually, I was gonna go upstairs, you know homework and such" Leah's expression went from sad to irritated.

"We've had enough of this young lady, you'll sit down and you'll do it right now!" never had I seen her so mad before, foster parents rarely ever get really mad afraid that they'll traumatize you, so at this I sat down without another word.

Her was face relaxed again when she started talking "There is something we need to discuss with you, it's about your father"

Wait, what, no, I don't want to talk about him, but I didn't say anything, I just kept my eyes on the table.

"Nadira, during the last few weeks we have been gathering information on your dads, ah, situation. He's been preparing a case built around the testimony he's expecting from you, due to the fact there are no eye witnesses apart from you" at that point I realized, they all must now what happened that night, well not exactly, but the outcome anyway, I glanced at their faces carefully, they were full of compassion sadness but more importantly hope.

"Basically he doesn't have case without you, so the chances that he will get an early release are slim to none" he's not coming, he's not coming, my mind went in overdrive, all sort of different thoughts flashed through my head. But the most important one kept coming back, he's not coming back, I am safe, they were safe, all the fear and tension that I held in me flowed out with my tears, as I started smiling.

"Oh, honey!" Leah threw her arms around me and kept me close.

"A-are you sure?" there can't be any doubt left, I had to know that I understood it correctly.

"Yes, yes, yes, of course we are sure!" Nessie ran towards me and replaced Leah's arms.

"Oh, Nady, I missed you so much" she was crying too now, so we stood there holding each other crying. Then I thought of Embry and how horrible I had been to him, I looked over Nessie's shoulder to look at him, but he wasn't there.

"He's is in the living room, he has been hurting so much these last weeks. He is glad you're ok, but he thinks that you don't want to see him, you know…"

As Leah said the words I remembered what I had said to him when he was outside my door that night. Oh no, poor Embry, I had to go to him, to explain, I untangled my arms from Nessie and shot her an apologetic look.

"Go, he needs you" she said to me.

Suddenly I was very nervous, I walked to Embry, who was sitting on a chair near the window looking outside. He didn't look at me, I put my arm around his shoulders and pressed myself against him, because he was sitting down I didn't have to reach up.

"I'm so sorry Embry, I didn't mean what I said, I was just trying to protect you" it seemed as if a huge weight had just been lifted from his shoulders.

He grabbed my waist and buried his head in my belly, holding himself as close to me as was possible, my other arm snaked around him and I pulled his head closer to me and stroked his hair. Now it was his turn to cry, for me to hold and comfort him, so I did, until finally his sobs subsided. He pulled himself away from me, to look me in the eyes.

"But why would you need to protect me?" huh what? Oh right.

"Well that's how his mind works, if there was a man other than him, being such a big part of my life, he would get mad, he would see you as a threat. So I figured if I pushed you away before he came here, he would leave you alone" to my surprise he started laughing.

"Oh silly girl, you don't have to worry about me, I can take care of myself!" he wasn't laughing at me was he, suddenly I started laughing to, it felt good to laugh. The others emerged from the kitchen at the sudden noise, to see what all the commotion was about.

"What's so funny?" Nessie seemed to be a bit insulted that she wasn't in on our little joke.

"Oh nothing really" Embry said "we're just letting everything out!"

"Ok, can we now finally discuss our birthdays?!" we all looked at Nessie in confusion.

"Who's birthdays Nessie?" Jacob asked he.

"Well, Nessie and mine of course!" she was really irritated now.

"But Nessie" Jacob was very careful, trying not to upset her more "your birthday is 3 months away, Embry's and my own are a lot nearer than yours"

"Yes Jake, I know that, but Nadira's birthday is a few weeks before mine and a big party like that for two ladies, takes a lot of planning!" wait, what did she say, was she planning _our _birthday party, but before I could ask the phone rang. At the sound of the phone I remembered that call, and stiffened instantly when Tom went to answer it.

"It's just the phone little one" Embry whispered in my ear and I eased up a bit.

"Oh wow that's great congratulations Sam!" Sam? Sam was on the phone, that could only mean one thing.

"Hey guys, the baby is born, it's a girl!"

We all went to get our stuff to go to the hospital, Tom and Leah rode together, they were so emotional, it seemed a bit much, I wondered what that was about. Nessie, Jacob, Embry and me rode in Jake's car, things were quickly returning to normal, well to what was normal for us.

When we arrived at the hospital Sam told us everything went well, both mother and daughter were doing well. Emily had gone into labor this morning and one our ago their baby girl was born, they had named her Aiylen.

When we went into the room Emily was sitting with little Aiylen in her arms and the twins were hanging over her to look at their little sister, Sam joined them and they made such a beautiful picture, I swallowed a lump down my throat, that little girl was so lucky to be part of a wonderful family like that, to have such loving parents and devoted brothers.

As I looked at them I was happy for them, but couldn't help but feel sad that never had an ounce that and never will. Then Tom put his arms around my shoulder, reassuring me that I wasn't alone, I instantly felt better, thinking that maybe I was wrong put a smile on my face.

After an hour or so, with the whole gang here, it was getting a bit for Emily, her eyes started drooping, so we decided to give them some rest and some alone time. Outside the hospital we said goodbye to everyone and walked back to the cars. Jacob would drive Nessie home, Embry was coming with us since we hadn't eaten yet. We said goodbye to Jake and Nessie, she hugged me and made me swear to call her, and I planned on actually calling her instead of making an empty promise.

Dinner was really nice, we were talking and laughing, almost like a real family, I savored every minute of it. For the first time I wondered what it would be like if I stayed here longer, I was scheduled to stay here until September 18th, if they would ask me to stay longer, I think I might say yes.

After dinner I walked Embry outside, we were joking around and playing with each other, because all my worries seemed to have disappeared this afternoon, I felt free and alive again.

"Are we going to the beach tomorrow? The weather is supposed to be really nice." Embry was suddenly unsure of my reaction.

"Sure, sounds like fun!" I replied enthusiastically.

"Cool, I'll ask Nessie and Jacob to join us!" he was so relieved, I bit my tongue to hold in my laughter. He hugged me lightly and walked away, while I stood there looking after him, if I were to stay longer, it meant that would be able to spend more time with Embry, until he gets a girlfriend that is, a pang of jealousy shot through my heart.

Inside again, I hugged Tom and Leah before heading upstairs.

"Thank you, for today and for everything" whispering as I held them close, then I went to my room and got ready for bed.

A few hours later I woke startled, the nightmare was still there, I didn't expect it would come tonight, but it did, I grabbed my phone and dialed a familiar number.

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**AN: **Please reiew!


	6. Nightmares and wolves!

**Disclaimer: Twilight is all Stephanie Meyer, I own nothing.**

**AN:** Also it's a heavy one, a lot of violence, so I decided to warn you beforehand, in case you're not up for it. And at last, finally a bit of wolf action!!!

* * *

Nightmares and wolves

~*~

POV: Nadira

~*~

"Nadira?" after a few rings I heard Nessie's sleepy voice on the other end.

"Hi, yes it's me, I'm sorry I woke, I'll call back tomorrow" of course, everybody is asleep at 3 in the morning!

"No! Don't hang up, I'm awake now anyway" Nessie said fast.

"Are you sure?" oh great, now you've done it.

"Yes, I'm sure!" then there was laughter.

"You know Nadira, I know that I made you swear to call me, but I wasn't expecting it so soon!"

"I know Nessie, I really am sorry, I just … well, I guess I just needed to talk" maybe I shouldn't have called.

"Oh Nady, I'm just kidding, I told you on your first day that you could call me anytime, remember? Well I meant it" she was so sweet, even if she was bossy sometimes, I smiled to myself.

"You're the best Nessie" I almost whispered, my voice thick with emotion.

"You know you are my best friend Nadira, I'm always here for you. Now, will you please tell me what's bothering you?" by the sound of her voice I could tell she was growing impatient.

"Uhm well, I have kind of been having nightmares, you know ever since my father called"

"Yes, I know" she sighed sadly "so, what are those nightmares about?"

"They are about the night my mom died. When I wake up, I can still see her on the floor lying in a pool of her own blood" this was easier on the phone than in person, so I continued telling her about my recurring dream.

_That night, my father had already been agitated before he came home, how he had been just waiting for my mom and me to screw up, which we would without a doubt. My mom obviously aware of his current state, tried to distract him and calm him down by asking how his day was, unfortunately that didn't work. As usual we became more nervous, knowing where this was going. Then it happened, my mom dropped the bowl of food she was just about to set on the table, probably due to the fact that her hands were shaking from nervousness. _

_My father exploded, yelling how stupid and clumsy she was, according to him she couldn't do anything right, she would always ruin everything. Now he had to go hungry because she had been stupid enough to drop his food, then he concluded she had done it on purpose to taunt him. She kept apologizing, pleading with him that it was an accident and that she would prepare something else for him. _

_Of course nothing she said made any difference, he bent down to the bowl on the floor, my mother quickly dropped to her knees with the intention of cleaning up the mess she'd made. She never got a chance, he grabbed one of large spoons that lay on the floor with the contents of the bowl and hit her across the face with it, so hard that I heard a cracking sound. She sank to the floor unconscious, as blood started pouring out of her nose._

_At that point I ran towards them and forced myself between my parents, yelling at him to stop, to not touch her. My yelling got louder as I got angrier, thinking it was better if I'd let him hit me instead of my mother. Behind me, my mother slowly regained consciousness and told me to get out of the way, not to be so stupid. I ignored her, and started calling him names, because I knew it would piss him of and so it did._

_He focused his attention on me while clenching his fists, I braced for impact. He hit me in the face, then again and again and kept on going until I lost count. At that point it was as if I wasn't in my own body anymore, I could see everything happening, but I was completely numb. I saw my mother get up and lunge at him, he threw me to the side against the kitchen wall as he pulled my mother of himself._

_I watched him beat her to the point where he was getting up and pulling on drawers, until he found what he was looking for… a steak knife. At that point I was frozen in fear, praying someone or something to help her, to stop my father from doing this. Since nobody was listening, my begging remained unanswered. Unable to look away, I saw my father hacking into my mother's still body over and over and over._

_Eventually he stopped and sank down onto the floor next to my mom, as he dropped it, the knife clattered down, he put his head in his hand and started crying. Unable to move a muscle, I stayed where I was, completely silent, barely breathing until the police and the paramedics arrived to take my parents away. My father in cuffs and my mother on a gurney…_

During the whole time that I was talking Nessie remained silent, I had probably completely freaked her out! She hadn't been expecting something like that, who would anyway, me… that's who!

"I've never told anyone what happened, ever" silence…

"Nessie, are you still there, did I freak you out, are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm still here" it took her a moment to continue "I'm ok, I'm glad you told me, really"

"Are you sure?" she didn't sound so sure.

"Yes, I'm shocked, but I'm ok, it's good that you talked about it, but I still need to process it"

"Sure, I understand" I was wondering if she would ever speak to me again. So, I was surprised when she brought up our plans for tomorrow.

"I'll see you at the beach tomorrow, right?" she asked.

"Yeah, right" relief washed over me.

"Ok, well, I hope you'll sleep better now Nady, good night" she said softly.

"Thanks Nessie, I'm sure I will, good night to you to" I replied.

When I fell asleep again the dream did not return and I woke rested the next morning, feeling light and looking forward to the day ahead, I got myself ready in record time and went to get breakfast.

Tom and Leah were already at the kitchen table when I came downstairs, Leah quickly got up, pretending to make breakfast, but I had already seen her red tearing eyes.

"Leah, are you ok?" she was worrying me, she always seemed so tough and now she was crying.

"Yeah, I'm good, don't worry about me" she reached out and hugged me when she pulled back she was smiling, but it didn't reach her eyes. Hmm, something was definitely going on here, but I had no idea what It was.

Then Embry walked in, rubbing his growling stomach.

"Oh, my dear Leah, feed me please! Otherwise I might starve to death" I started giggling at his overly dramatic performance.

Leah nudged him playfully in the ribs grinning, this time the smile was across her whole face and her eyes were laughing

"Oh, stop it already Embry! Here's your food!" she set a full plate on the table. The mood had turned light the moment Embry had arrived, he was really good at that I realized, remembering the many times he had made me laugh.

As soon as we were finished, we ran outside screaming, where Nessie and Jacob were waiting for us. Embry and I stopped laughing when we saw that they were having an argument. Which was really weird, as far as I could tell, they always got along great without any friction what so ever, my curiosity got the best of me as I watched the situation play out right in front of me. They clearly had not seen or heard us coming and were totally oblivious to us standing there.

"Come on Nessie, what's going on, you've been acting weird al day" Jacob seemed actually a bit mad at her.

"Jacob, let it go, I don't have to tell you everything" Nessie sighed

"So there is something then?!" now he looked hurt.

This was something Nessie couldn't handle, she told me once, she gently laid her hand on his cheek and said "ok, but promise me you won't overreact"

"Sure sure" he was satisfied that she would tell him what he wanted to know.

A moment passed, where nothing happened, they just stood there, Nessie still with her hand on Jacob's cheek. Then everything happened real fast.

"WHAT!" Jacob roared, shaking violently.

Embry placed himself before me protectively without blocking my view. What happened then was totally incomprehensible, Jacob exploded, literally , into a giant russet brown colored wolf that came towards us. While I was still trying to figure out what was going on, Embry ran and exploded mid stride into a large grey wolf with black spots on its back.

Now the wolves were charging each other, I just stood there nailed to the ground, when I heard a high voice pitch a loud scream.

"Guys! Stop it, you're scaring Nadira!" Nessie took command and the wolves responded, both running to the nearest trees. At the same time Leah and Tom were running from the house, Leah put her arm around my shoulders as Tom ran to the trees where the wolves had disappeared behind, throwing in two shorts. A few seconds later Jacob and Embry walked out of the words, wearing nothing but the shorts that Tom had just thrown into the trees.

~*~

POV: Leah

~*~

Nadira had gone still beside me, I was still holding her close, rubbing my hand up and down her arm, trying to get her to relax a little bit. She was now staring as Jacob and Embry walked back to us. Jacob kept looking from Nessie to Nadira and back again, Embry's face clearly showed how much pain he was in. Of course I knew exactly what the cause of his discomfort was, it was the same that had made me cry for a long time this morning.

Last night I had heard Nadira call Nessie and tell her about her dream, it was horrible to imagine a child going through that. Embry had now seen it all through Jacob's thoughts, who in his turn had heard it from Nessie. He kept going straight towards Nadira, obviously he intended to ask her about it, but I shook my head to let him know that he couldn't, when he suddenly realized she must be in total shock because of what had happened a moment ago.

"Nadira, we should go inside, there are few things we need to explain" still holding her, I guided her to the kitchen, where we all sat down and Tom poured us some drinks. I cleared my throat wondering how to get started, decided to tell her about the legends of our tribe.

"Well, a few years ago we started changing and found out that the legends were true. We" I listed all of our names "all have a gene, passed down from our ancestors, that got triggered, that's when we all started phasing, that's what it's called, one by one. We are a pack forced into existence, due to the presence of a vampire coven nearby, our job is to protect the tribe"

Finally Nadira spoke "so, the two of you can change into wolves, just like Embry and Jacob just did, and vampires are real?" she looked at Tom and me.

"Yes that's right" I nodded.

"So, are you guys dangerous? I mean do you attack people and stuff?" she looked at the four of us who are wolves.

Embry answered "we are only dangerous to vampires" he flushed, looking at Nessie "well, human blood drinking vampires that is"

"Are there any different kinds than that?" Nadira asked utterly surprised.

This time Nessie took over "well, yes there are, we are …" she hesitated before she went on "Nadira, I am half vampire, the rest of my family members are full vampires, but we only hunt animals, and I can eat survive on regular food as well" she stopped to see how Nadira would respond.

"You … you're … a … a…. vampire?" I wondered how much more she could take.

"Well half vampire, Bella was still human when I was born" Nessie thought for a moment on how to explain it to her, then she suddenly said "I'll show you, don't be scared, I won't hurt you" then she put her hand on Nadira's cheek.

After a few minutes Nessie turned to me "I showed her everything I thought she should know, about my family and their gifts and of course about the pack and your physical advantages, but I left out imprinting, that isn't for me to show her"

"Nadira, are you alright?" Embry now asked.

"Yes, I think I am, you all really scared me for a moment when you told me what you are, but Nessie showed me the good things that come with it. She showed me how close you are and how much you care about each other. I will have to get used to it, but I'm ok with it" Nadira smiled to reassure us.

"So, what happened out there, why did you guys attack each other?" Nadira turned to Embry and Jacob.

Jacob looked uncomfortable as he started talking "Well, Nessie was silent and acting strange all morning, so I kept pushing her to tell me what was wrong. Then she showed me your conversation from last night, about your nightmare" he shot an apologetic look at Embry.

"I, uh, kinda lost it, I was annoyed because you had made Nessie upset with your story and at the same time I got really angry that someone was capable of doing something like that to you" Nadira turned red as Jacob's words sank in

"I'm really sorry, I didn't think, I didn't know" Embry walked over to Nadira and pulled her into a hug.

"Sshh, it's ok, don't worry about it, let's go to the beach, we can talk there, that was the plan remember" she nodded.

"Do you still want to go?" he asked her.

"Yes, yes I do" Embry, Jacob and Nessie said goodbye, while Nadira lingered.

"I'll be right there, go ahead" She came towards me and peered into my eyes

"Did you overhear my conversation with Nessie last night, is that why you were upset this morning?" this girl was absolutely amazing, so smart, so observant, so caring, I was lost in thoughts for a moment when I realized I hadn't answered her yet.

"Yeah, I heard you, I couldn't help it" Nadira took a step closer and threw her arms around me, I quickly wrapped mine around her, we held on to each other for a while without saying a word, before she let go and joined the others outside, moments later I heard the car drive off.

"It's a good thing they're not here today, we still have to go and talk to Sam" I said as I turned to Tom.

"Yeah, but Leah, are you sure?" Tom gazed at me doubtfully

"Yes Tom, I'm positive, I just want to know if it's possible, not only for me but for future generations as well" I reassured him.

"Ok, well lets go then" Tom grabbed my hand as he led me to the car.

"Is it ok if we walk" I was suddenly nervous and needed the fresh air.

"Sure, no problem" we walked, in a comfortable silence, up to the cute white house where Sam and Emily lived. Sam opened the door invited us into the quiet house, it was usually quite loud in here, but Emily and Aiylen were still in the hospital, they would come home this afternoon, and the twins were with Sue and Charlie.

"So, you wanted to discuss your involvement with the pack, are you ready to get back on board, now that Nadira knows?" Sam's question was a logical one, but that's not exactly what I had in mind.

"Actually, I want to stop phasing for a while" Sam gave me a questioning look, but didn't say anything, so I continued. "You know I haven't phased in a few months now, because I wanted to have my full attention on Nadira, something changed since then, I changed. My cycle has returned, even though it is still irregular, Carlisle thinks it will get better if I keep from phasing, so that I might be able to conceive. So want to do that, I want to wait and see if I can, so we could have a baby" my eyes became wet at my last words, immediately Tom's arm slid around my shoulder to hold me tightly to him. Sam stayed quiet and thought for a while, he knew about my issues and how much it bothered me, then he finally spoke

"I understand, I think I would do the same if I were in your position, there is one question I would like to ask though. If you stop phasing Leah, you will age again. How do you feel about that Tom, do you want to stop phasing as well?" We had thought about that too, we agreed that I would start phasing again if it didn't work or after our child or was born, of course I would look older than Tom, but I didn't mind.

"I would like to stop phasing as well, there is no need for us now, if a situation where we would be needed should present itself we can always phase for a certain period, as long as necessary" what? This wasn't the plan, but Tom told me to stay silent with a single look.

"Yes, you are right, I have been thinking a lot about that too lately" Sam surprised us with his answer.

"Emily isn't getting younger and there is no need for so many of us to stay active, Jacob is taking over command within a month so that I can stop phasing, Paul and Jared want to stop phasing too and I have already agreed to their request"

"As soon as Emily is up and about we will have a bonfire/meeting to discuss this with the rest. We can stay involved in the decision making process and other stuff like that, but from that point on we will no longer phase without necessity" Tom and I smiled at each other.

"That's really great, exactly what we were hoping for, thanks!" Tom shook Sam's hand abundantly.

We walked back home, blissfully happy, we hadn't considered that phasing would cause problems for some of the others as well, but now it seemed so obvious, I thought to myself as I couldn't stop smiling. Looking over at Tom, he mirrored my expression, he was happy because I was, but also because he really wanted children and now our chances were considerably higher.

There was no rush of course, we had all the time in the world and we had Nadira to think about. We wanted her to become a permanent member of our family after her six months had passed, we were already talking about it with her social worker, but we still had to ask Nady first, before making anything official.

Our vision of the future had taken a turn in a completely different direction during the last few months, but the change was absolutely a positive one!

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**AN: **Did you like, I hope you did… come on you guys, review and make me happy!


	7. Slobbering!

**Disclaimer: Twilight is all Stephanie Meyer, I own nothing.**

**AN: **Thanks to those who left me a review!!! Also to the ones who reviewed anonymously, I can't thank you personally so I'll do it in here!

Here's the next chapter, enjoy!

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Slobbering!

~*~

POV: Nadira

~*~

When I got outside they were already in the car, waiting for me, Jacob behind the wheel, Embry next to him, so I slid in the backseat with Nessie. I still felt bad that my need to vent, had caused Nessie so much discomfort and therefore I wanted to make sure she was ok.

"Hey, Nessie… I'm sorry about last night, I shouldn't have called you, I won't next time, I promise-" I was rambling on when Nessie interrupted me.

"Nady, I admit I was upset, but I'm fine now! You should call me, even if it is in the middle of the night, I'm your best friend. I want you to talk to me about what's on your mind, no matter how horrible it might be!" she was getting agitated, but then she softened.

"You would do the same for me" she was right about that, I wouldn't mind if she did that so I let her know.

"Ok, but promise me one thing though, don't hesitate to call me either, if you ever need someone to talk about!" I demanded.

"Promise!" she exclaimed, visibly relieved that we smoothed out our little communication issue.

The day on the beach was great, we talked about how everything worked for the guys being a member of the wolf pack, or what it was like being a vampire-human hybrid like Nessie, they were very patient and answered all my questions. Soon we were having fun, laughing at each other's jokes and running around after each other, naturally they always caught me while I could not even come near them, as I was the only one there who was so severely disadvantaged, but I didn't mind.

When the sun started disappearing in the sea I was getting colder and started shivering, that's when I was introduced to another convenience that came with being near wolf-men. Embry gestured me to sit down beside him, I instantly warmed when he wrapped his arm around me.

"Feeling better little one?" feeling his hot chest against my back and his warm arms made me relax instantly and I nodded. Satisfied with my answer he pulled me closer to him, we sat there for a while peacefully, looking out over the ocean.

That day, I felt as if I had been given a chance to start over, I fully intended to grab on and enjoy my life from now on.

School was almost over, and the days flew by, Nessie and me were planning a trip to Port Angeles to shop for gifts, this Saturday. Embry was celebrating his 24th birthday next Saturday, the Sunday after, June 7th was his actual birthday. Three weeks after that the twins were turning 5, so Emily and Sam were organizing a bonfire, which would conveniently be in the first weekend of the summer. Another month after that the 27th of July would be Jacob's turn to celebrate a day early.

So we had a lot of shopping to do, we managed to keep our plan from our bodyguards, we like to call them that to tease them, but Saturday morning they caught on to the fact that we were headed to Port Angeles, when they did they went completely ballistic. We knew they wouldn't like it, but this was absurd, Nessie was in a heated discussion with Jacob, but I wasn't paying attention, because I was busy scolding Embry.

"Who do you think you are?! You're acting as if I'm going sky diving or something. We're going to Port Angeles, not the back alleys of Detroit or something" I had once been with a foster family there, let me tell you, not pretty!

"As if that matters, you'll be alone! What if something happens, I wouldn't be there to protect you" was he being serious with this protecting crap?!

"That's enough, I'm not a little girl any more, I can handle myself, I don't need you!" ouch, that was too much, I saw him flinching at my last words. So I calmed down a bit and tried to explain.

"You know I don't mean it like that, but we'll be ok for an afternoon" but he kept his 'not gonna happen' face, firmly in place looking down at me, added to that he had his big arms folded across his broad chest, he looked quite intimidating, obviously not to me of course.

"Oh please Embry, if you're there with me while I pick out your present, I won't be able to surprise you with it on your birthday" if anger and reasoning wouldn't work maybe charm would, it was worth a try, so to add to the effect I put my hand on his arm and pouted. He sighed, not able to withstand this tactic.

"All right, but please be careful and keep your phone with me, so you can call me if something happens." Oh my god! It worked!

Mental note to elf, pouting works like a charm. I jumped up and down in excitement. Looking over at Nessie and Jacob to see how she was doing there, I concluded that she had convinced him too, she was smiling widely, while he had an extremely dissatisfied look on his face.

We hugged them quickly to say goodbye, just in case they would change their minds again. As neither one of us had a driver's license, I due to my lot's moving around and Nessie never thought it was necessary, we couldn't drive ourselves. Luckily, Bella, who I now knew was actually Nessie's mom instead of her sister, was willing to take us and pick us up afterwards.

We had a lot of fun, picking gifts for the twins was a bit difficult, but eventually we succeeded, but when it came to the guys, we knew exactly what to get. Initially I wanted to keep it simple, but about a week ago Nessie persuaded me to let her pay so that I could Embry what I really wanted to get for him on top of what I had planned originally.

Because we were done a few hours before Bella would pick us up, we decided to go see a movie and get a bite to eat afterwards. Nessie and I had become so close, it was a new experience for the both of us, I had never had any girlfriends or friends at all for that matter and she had never been this close with anyone besides Jacob.

"Sometimes, he is jealous, when I talk to you, instead of him, about something" she giggled, then she became more serious.

"It's a bit weird though, until a while ago, I could talk to him about pretty much anything, but there are certain subjects I just can't discuss with him. That's one of the reasons I was so glad that I'd met you" Nessie admitted.

"I know what you mean. Some things are just not meant to be discussed with boys, or in this case men" I agreed with her her.

"Yeah, but he just doesn't understand, I feel bad every time he brings it up, because I don't want to hurt him" guilt was visible in her eyes.

"He'll understand someday Nessie, he's smart and you talk to him about so much other stuff. Besides, you spend a lot and I mean a lot, of time with him, he doesn't have any reasons to be jealous of anybody" I was thrilled that I was the one comforting her for a change.

The next week passed quickly and Nessie and I were going to Embry's party together, it seemed logical as Jacob and Embry lived together and therefore were both already there. It took me two hours alone to pick out my clothes, eventually settling on a white dress with a busy blue, turquoise and green flower print, and simple white flats at my feet.

It took me another hour to do my hair and accessorize, my hair tumbled down my shoulders in large soft curls and I had big silver hoops in my ears and a cute blue purse in my hand. The party was crowded but in a good way, the whole pack was there, the single ones and the others came with their wives and girlfriends. That's when I noticed how extremely in love they all were, well the ones that had a relationship that is, were all over each other.

"Hey Nessie, are they always like this?" looking at all the couples.

"Yes, gross isn't it. I mean, it's great that they are so in love, but do they need to do that in front of everybody. You know, my family's just like that, always touching and holding each other, but that's different, they're vampires, I have been told it works like that for them."

"Maybe it is the same for wolves, we should ask Jacob and Embry later" but first I needed to give him my gifts, there were three now. Looking around for him, I caught him staring at me from the other side of the room, suddenly feeling very self conscious, I gestured him to meet me outside.

"Wow, you look beautiful Nadira" said a deep voice behind me and I turned around.

"Thanks, you don't look so bad yourself" I replied shyly, talk about understating facts, he looked gorgeous in his dark yeans and white shirt stretched around his muscles, rolled up to his elbows.

"Happy birthday Embry" putting my hands around his waist to hug him, before I quickly let go again.

"Thanks. So, what's up" his brows shot up questioningly.

"Well, I wanted to give you my gifts in private" I smiled as I handed him two packages and an envelope. They were a bit personal, and I was suddenly very anxious, what if he didn't liked them, so I figured it was safer outside where there were no people around.

"Three, huh? You must like me a lot" he teased. He opened the envelope first, probably expecting a card, oh damn, I should have gotten him a card! After looking at the content of the envelope he looked at me, with a huge grin on his face.

"You're going to cook for me?" I felt like a small child al of a sudden, what was I thinking, making him an 'Nadira's home cooked meal' coupon!

"Uhm, yeah well, I figured you eat a lot, you like food and lasagna is your favorite. So I thought, that maybe, if you wanted to, I could make some for you" I was now so nervous I was twisting my toes into the floor.

"Oh, you're so cute you know that" he laughed "so, when can I use this?" waving the coupon in front of my face.

"How about tomorrow night?" I offered.

"Deal! So up to the next, although I don't think it can top the first gift you got me" he pulled the paper of the box and took the lid of, he gasped while peering inside.

"How did you know?" directly followed by a "this is way too expensive" came rolling out of his mouth, now it was my turn to start grinning.

"I saw you looking at it excessively when we passed the store, that day you and Jacob got us something to eat after shopping. It is a bit expensive, but Nessie paid for it, saying they had enough money and that we shouldn't worry about it" He took the titanium kinetic watch from the box and put it on and looked at me grateful.

"Thanks little one" he pecked me lightly on the cheek, making me blush.

"It suits you" I complemented him, it really did, the shiny watch against his dark skin made a beautiful contrast.

"The last gift really isn't much, just a little something" that was the one I was most nervous about. He had asked me for a picture of myself many times, I didn't understand why he wanted it though. He had told me it was because I was such a big part of his life now, and he liked a picture as he also had pictures of his _other _family members. Every time I told him no, because… well I don't exactly know why but I told him that I didn't have any good pictures.

Two weeks ago, Nessie had given me a picture of Embry and me, she had taken that day at the beach, while the sun was setting. With his continuing whining about a picture of me, I thought this one would do, since I was also in it, so I had placed it in a simple wooden frame, this had been my original idea for his birthday gift.

When he opened it he went completely quiet, it took so long that I started fidgeting with my purse. Could he just say something already, this was so nerve wracking, I was about to scream at him to get him to say something, when he finally looked up.

"This is the best gift anyone has ever given me" he spoke softly and pulled me into a tight hug, keeping me there until I couldn't breathe anymore.

"Em… can't… breathe…" he loosened his grip, but didn't let me go.

"Did he like them!?" Nessie's high voice reached my ears, she and Jacob were stepping outside.

"Yeah, he likes the gifts" I smiled at Nessie.

"Nuh uh, I don't like them, I looooove them" he stretched the word love ridiculously, so we all laughed.

We stood outside talking and laughing for a while, when Tom and Leah emerged from the house. "Nadira sweetie, we're going to head home, see you there ok" Leah said to me, never taking her eyes of Tom.

"Oh and Embry, congratulations again. Have a nice night guys" she said walking past us.

"Sure, no problem" I called after them, making a gagging gesture at their backs, and adding softly.

"I'm not going home for a while!" Leah and Tom were like this a lot and I wasn't embarrassed by it anymore, now it was more like grossed out.

"Oh, let them be happy!" Embry teased me.

"That reminds me of something Nadira and me wanted to ask you guys" we all looked at Nessie, was she really going to ask them, she wouldn't, would she, oh yeah she would, I groaned inwards as she continued.

"What is up with all the wolves and their lovers?" she asked bluntly.

"Uhm, what do you mean?" Jacob asked her carefully.

"It's not normal, that each and every one of them are in love like that. They're always, holding, touching, kissing and slobbering all over each other, it's weird! Why is that, we wonder?" she finished looking from them to me and back again.

Embry and Jacob didn't say anything, but looked at us completely horrified.

~*~

POV: Embry

~*~

Walking backwards as Nadira and Nessie advanced on us, Jake and I glanced at each other, his face was telling me that we were thinking the exact same thing. Oh shit. Oh shit! OH SHIT!

"Well are you going to answer her?" Nadira kept walking towards me.

How did this happen?! A moment ago I was unwrapping my gifts from Nady, enjoying a perfect moment, and know they were demanding us to explain about the pack and their relationships, in other words imprinting. Not only did Jake and I wanted to keep it from them until they would develop that sort of feelings for us on their own, but also Jake had promised Bella and Edward not to tell her and I had promised Leah and Tom the same thing.

There was an internal battle raging in my head, give in to my imprint or do the right thing. Suddenly I heard Jake clearing his throat to say something, please let him be able to talk us out of this, please!

"We would like to explain" what was he saying, I shot him an angry glare.

"But, since this concerns the pack, we have to talk to Sam first." Yes… Jake… so smart, I knew I could count on him, ahem, Sam would help us!

"What?!" Nadira and Nessie screamed simultaneously.

"Yeah, Jake is right, he and I should have talk with Sam about this, we are obligated to, he is the pack eldest after all" laying it on a bit thick, but what was I supposed to do.

"You can't do this to us!" Nessie was yelling now

"Yeah, it's obvious you're hiding something!" Nadira looked me straight in the eyes.

"For a moment I thought I was paranoid, but there actually is some big secret that both of you are keeping from us!" I was torn, seeing her face live that, my instinct were to tell her everything, but my brain was shouting not to. A few feet from us, Nessie and Jake were having a conversation similar to ours, so I focused my attention back on Nadira, who was still eyeing me angrily.

"Nady, please don't be mad at me, I can't take it. I really think it's best if we talk to Sam first, he just knows more about this stuff than we do" I pleaded with her. Hah, as if I didn't understand what imprinting was about, but she didn't have to know that.

"Well go on then, talk to your precious Sam" Nadira used a mocking tone as she spoke.

They of course saw straight through our attempt to get out of answering their questions, but there was nothing they could do about it. Nadira and Nessie headed back inside and we followed reluctantly, inside we noticed that Sam and Emily had already left with the kids, relief washed over me.

It was around 19:00 so it wasn't that late and I wondered why they had left so early, until I noticed the faces of the rest of the pack, trying to hide their amusement, failing to do so. Then I knew that the whole pack had heard us and Sam and Emily had fled the house in a matter of minutes, as Sam had understood that we were shoveling our problems into his shoes.

"It seems this will have to wait ladies!" Jake was smiling his huge smile at Nessie. As I pleaded with Nadira by looking at her with what she called my 'puppy dog face'.

"Fine, but you will talk to him before dinner tomorrow, otherwise you can kiss your lasagna goodbye" Nadira looked sternly at me.

"I will, I promise, never would I risk the opportunity to have you cook for me" grinning now, I saw that she tried to keep herself from smiling, but eventually she lost her battle and I saw the corners of her mouth turn upwards. Tonight we would be safe, after the party Jacob and I would talk strategy, we had to figure this out somehow.

"So birthday boy, what do you want to do now?" Nadira's anger seemed to have passed, her eyes were questioningly looking up at mine.

"You can pick, since it's your birthday" she said again.

"Hmm" trying to figure out what she would hate most, just to see how much she was willing to do for me, gaming, she would hate that! Of course I wouldn't actually let her do it, but wanted to so if she really would.

"We could play a game, the Wii is fun" peering into her eyes to make sure to see her first reaction.

"Yeah, that sounds like fun! Do you have that boxing game, I can't remember what it's called?" my jaw dropped.

She started laughing and pulling me towards the basement, we had created a media room down there, with a huge screen and a an even bigger couch. Nadira turned out to be an excellent boxer, well she was in the game at least, later she wanted to play the dancing game as she told me this was her favorite game.

"Hey guys! Do you feel like watching a movie?" Jake said really loud as him and Nessie were walking down the stairs, pulling my eyebrows up at Nady in question if she wanted to.

"Sure, but no action please" she said pleading. Jake and me were finally able to pick a DVD that wasn't shot down by the girls, we popped it in and joined them on the couch, it was big, but with the four of us it was pretty cramped. About twenty minutes into the movie, I noticed Nadira was getting tired, so I pulled her up on my lap so she could rest her head in the crook of my neck, within minutes she had fallen asleep.

When I stood up to take her home, I saw that Nessie had also fallen asleep, Jake and I agreed to meet up after we had taken them home, as the whole imprinting business came floating back to us.

Arriving at Tom and Leah's I dug the keys out of her purse, when I opened the door Leah appeared at the top of the stairs. She followed me to Nadira's room, I laid her down careful not to wake her and pulled of her shoes, after pulling up the covers I placed a soft kiss on her fore head. Closing the door behind me, I saw that Leah was waiting for me in the hallway.

"Did she have fun tonight?"

"Yeah she did, when she fell asleep during the movie I didn't want to wake her, so I carried her home."

"Thanks Embry, she really cares a lot about you, I'm glad you're giving her time, she needs that" I tensed as she finished, immediately feeling guilty.

"Yeah, about that, can we talk, something… uh… came up" her smile vanished and was now eyeing me suspiciously. She went back to the doorway of her room and asked Tom to join us in the kitchen. There I explained everything that had happened tonight adding that Jacob and I were planning on talking to Sam also, but first wanted to know how they felt about it.

Leah was quiet, so Tom answered me "well, I must say that I'm pleased that you came to us first, although I think that talking to Sam is very good idea. Maybe we could come with you, when do you plan on going?"

"Well, Nadira is supposed to cook me a birthday dinner tomorrow, but know has added the condition that I must have spoken to Sam before I come here, or no dinner" I hoped that they would come tomorrow, because I was really looking forward to our dinner.

"Why don't you go with him Tom, I promised to teach Nadira how to make lasagna, if she wants to do it tomorrow it gives me little time to help her"

"Ok, I'll go with you, see you there around 13:00?"

"Yeah, that works for me, thanks"

At home Jake was already waiting for me, it turned out Bella and Edwards reaction was similar to Tom and Leah's. Jake would call them tomorrow after we had been to Sam's to hear what he had to say. Still not having a clue on how to solve this, we decided to get some sleep and hope that Sam would have an idea, I hope...

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**AN:** Hope you liked it!


	8. I understand now

**Disclaimer: Twilight is all Stephanie Meyer, I own nothing.**

**AN: **Aaahhh, you guys are great! Thanks so much for your reviews!!! Here's the chapter you were all waiting for, enjoy!

* * *

I understand now

~*~

POV: Embry

~*~

Tom was already there when we arrived the next day, laughing with Sam about something, but quieting down the moment the spotted us, as if to prevent us from finding out what they were talking about. They stood op an walked into the kitchen were Emily was preparing food, turning around for a second to greet us, we followed them and we all sat down at the kitchen table. Sam cleared his throat before he started talking.

"Well, you've gotten yourself in quite a mess haven't you boys?" smiling wickedly at us, he was having way too much fun with this.

"Well it was bound to happen one day" Emily's voice sounded from the stove, we all turned to her confused. It took her a while to realize we were all watching her.

"You're surprised, really" she asked dumbfounded as she turned around to face us.

"Do you think girls at that age don't notice things like that? Of course they will! We just couldn't predict when this would happen, since we're on new territory here" she looked at us as if she were the teacher and we the kids in her kindergarten class.

"I'm sure Quil will benefit greatly from this, he'll be able to prepare himself better for when Claire gets to this point" she added matter-of-factly.

"Well what do you suggest then?" Sam asked her.

"Jake and Embry could tell them that everything will be explained by you at the bonfire/meeting we are having in three weeks. There will be a lot that needs to be discussed there, so you could easily add the story about imprinting. Nobody has to tell them that they're imprinted on, or do you want to tell them?" she directed the question at me and Jake.

We had said nothing since we came in, I was too nervous to talk and I assumed Jake was feeling the same way, so I decided it was about time I said something.

"No, we don't want to tell them. If we tell them we'll either push them into a relationship they might not be ready for, or push them away completely. So we want to wait for them to figure out how they feel about us by themselves" I explained.

"Yes, I think that's smart, so my plan will work for that, don't you think Sam?" we were all looking at Sam now, as he seemed to ponder on the idea, when he finally nodded.

"If everybody agrees to this, that's how we'll do it" he looked around to read our faces.

It did seem like a good Idea, so we all agreed to it. Both Jacob and me left Sam's, while Tom was obviously not ready to go yet, I then remembered how suspicious they were behaving when we had arrived, wondering what they would be discussing soon. Jacob got out his phone to call Nessie's parents, while walking to go to dinner at Nadira's I was anxious to get to her, hoping that she would let the matter rest, until Sam's explanation at the bonfire. By the time I got to her front door, I was so nervous that I was shaking, then she opened the door.

As soon I as I gazed upon her face I felt myself relaxing, of course the nerves weren't completely gone, but I was happy to be near her again, especially if it included food, better yet, a meal made by her hands.

"Hey Embry, come on in" she was looking at me expectantly.

"Hey little one, something smells good" inhaling deeply through my nose to catch a full wave of the delicious smell coming from the kitchen, but she headed to the living room instead and sat down.

"Yes well, that's only the sauce mister wolf! I still have to make the actual lasagna" she teased me "why, are you hungry or something?" now smiling wickedly.

"Are you kidding me, I'm starving, do you really expect me to sit here with that smell haunting me? I'll go crazy!"

"Well, I hope you haven't forgotten our agreement" confused I looked at her "you've been to Sam's I assume" oh my god, she had done it on purpose, knowing that smelling the sauce would make me desperate and more willing to divulge information. She had a real mean streak about her, I hadn't noticed it before now, I chuckled on the inside, until I realized she wanted to talk about that instant.

"Yes, I've been to Sam's" her face lit up like Christmas tree.

"I still don't know what the big deal is though, I mean why are you suddenly so interested in other people's relationships?" I decided to keep her hanging for a bit longer.

"It wasn't a big deal, until I found out that there actually is something going on. Naturally I wanted to know then" she suddenly seemed tired of explaining

"I just want to know alright?" she sighed.

"Ok, I get it and you will know, but you'll have to wait for the bonfire. It concerns one of the legends so Sam will tell the story then, it will explain everything and answer your questions" I looked at her to see how she responded.

"You really don't want to tell me, do you?" her voice was calm and serious while she spoke softly.

"Nadira, it's not that, please don't take it personally" I didn't want to hurt her.

"Never mind, it's ok, I'll wait for the bonfire" but she was clearly upset, screw it, I'll just tell her, as I opened my mouth to speak, Leah walked into the room, looking at me like she knew exactly what I was up to.

"Well hello Embry, were have you left Tom?" Huh? What? Tom?

"He's still at Sam's, they are getting along great these days aren't they?" sounding a bit irritated as I remembered their secretive behavior, then it hit me, Nadira must think the same of Jake and me.

"Yeah, they are, aren't they" she said dreamily, adding to my suspicion.

"Well I'll just head over there, as we're eating there tonight." What the fuck, excuse my language, was going on here, Leah was eating at Sam's voluntarily, something is definitely up.

"Yeah sure, are you ok Leah?" she seemed distracted.

"Hmm, yeah I'm fine. See you later guys!" and with that she walked out the door.

"What was that about?" Nadira asked, probably directing the question more at herself than me, but I answered anyway.

"I haven't got a clue" I said still staring at Leah's back.

"She and Tom have been acting weird for a while now, even more happy and gooey than usual" she added that to let me know she was still thinking about it, but ignored it even if not telling her caused me pain. If I would tell her myself I figured she would deduce much quicker that I had imprinted on her, if Sam told the story at the bonfire it would include no one in particular, so maybe she wouldn't tie it to me and link it to the couples in the pack.

"When I got to Sam's this morning, he and Tom were laughing about something, but very quickly stopped when Jake and me walked in" my diversion had worked quite nicely, she was now thinking up theories that would explain their behavior. It was very entertaining to watch her go at it, so I stayed quiet mostly, only nodding or agreeing as she came up with a new theory.

Everything was fine until the food obsessed monster inside me decided to interrupt Nadira's busy talking, my stomach growled loudly, she ceased her rambling instantly, her cheeks flushing as she realized that she had been going on for about an hour.

"Oh, poor Embry, I hadn't planned on actually making you wait, I just got distracted, I'm so sorry" she was already walking towards the kitchen, me following her, like the puppy that I am. She had already made the lasagna as it was sitting there on the counter right in front us, it didn't look done just jet, but I had to restrain myself from eating it like this. Following my gaze, Nadira started laughing, louder and louder until the tears were rolling of cheeks.

"Don't… do… it… Em!" she barely got the words out

"The sheets are still raw!" she said when she had caught her breath.

"It needs to cook for half an hour before it's done!" My face was turning a nice bright red, great, I had almost attacked a raw lasagna!

"Didn't think it was that funny" I mumbled, still utterly embarrassed .

"Oh, that's so cute, my big strong wolf-man is blushing like a little girl" 'my', she said 'my' right, right, I wasn't sure anymore… yes she _had_ said '_my_ big strong wolf-man', I just know she did! When I landed back down on planet earth, she was still laughing clutching her belly, now she was just asking for it! Slowly I started advancing on her looking like was ready to pounce, when she realized what I was doing, she started backing up.

"Embry, what are you doing" her voice full of laughter.

"Emmmbry, don't come any closer!" her demand was futile as I stayed on course

"I said, don't! No, Embry, listen to me! Dooooon't!" Her last words morphed into a high pitched scream as I grabbed her waist and started tickling her ruthlessly.

"Aaaaahhhhh… Em… let… me… gooooooooo!" but I had just found out that she particularly ticklish under her lowest left rib.

"Em… Em… pleeeeaaaase! The… aaaaahhhh… las.. sagn… aaaaaaah!" what was she saying, lasagna? I loosened my grip a little so I could understand what the hell she was saying.

"What about the lasagna?" still not letting her up, despite her tremendous efforts to wrestle my arms of, her smile was so huge it was probably hurting her face.

"I need to put it in the oven" her big eyes opened wide questioningly, wondering if I would continue on with my mission to tickle her to death, or if I would let my hunger in. I decided to do both, swinging her over my shoulder as I walked to the oven.

"Is it already heated up to the right temperature?" but she didn't answer me, so I let my fingers graze the ticklish spot I had just found and she screamed again.

"I asked" tickle "if it" tickle "was" tickle "heated?" this got me an answer.

"Yes! YES! It's heated!" that was more like it, balancing her on my shoulder, I opened the oven, grabbed the lasagna and placed it in the oven, quickly setting the timer on 30 minutes.

"So, were was I?" we went on like that for a while, until she begged me to stop.

"Pleeeaase… Em… I can't breathe!!!" finally I let her go, her face was flushed from all the excitement, looking at her I thought she looked happy, job well done, I told myself while patting myself on the shoulder mentally.

"So, is dinner almost ready?" she was setting the table and glanced at the oven timer.

"Yeah, yeah, hold your horses" I might have thought she had gotten irritated, if I hadn't heard the joy in her voice.

She retrieved the hot lasagna from the oven and placed it on the table, she was so proud that she had successfully prepared my favorite dish, or at least it looked as if she had been successful .She handed me a knife and a spatula, indicating that I should serve, I cut out a small piece and put it on the plate she held out for herself, the second piece was much larger as I placed it on my own plate. I dug in immediately as I was extremely hungry.

"Nady, this is delicious!" I exclaimed with a full mouth.

"Thanks" she beamed proudly at me.

Dinner was nice, we talked about all sorts of things, she was so unrestrained these days. Saying what she was thinking was one of her rarer quality's, but it was one of my favorites. When we were finished eating, we cleared of the table and moved in to the living room. She had rented a movie for tonight, it was a science fiction, she knew I loved those, happy that she had gone through so much trouble to make sure that I had a good time.

We were just about to start the movie, when Tom and Leah came home, they said a quick hello and disappeared upstairs into their bedroom.

"See, what I mean?" she said to me.

"Bleh, I can't imagine myself being like that, ever!" her words shocked me. But then I remembered she had been around the dysfunctional relationship of her parents for so many years.

"Nady, they're in love with each other, one day you'll fall in love and you will understand" I sincerely hoped she would, more for her than for my sake, she deserved to be happy.

"Maybe, but I don't think so" she said a little headstrong.

"Well, that's good enough for now" I pulled her to me and put my arm around her shoulders, I could tell she was comfortable being so close to me, we watched the movie, which I thought was very good, and when it was finished she walked me to the door.

"Thank you for a great night Nadira, I do hope you'll cook for me again someday" she wrapped her arms around my waist and pulled me close.

"Happy birthday Embry" I put my arms around her and returned the hug, with her face against my chest she spoke again.

"Thanks for not giving up on me" she said it so soft that I would not have heard without my wolf hearing. The lump in my throat prevented me from speaking, so instead I pulled her even closer.

~*~

The next three weeks passed quickly, people were preparing for their summer vacation, so a lot of them wanted their car checked out before going on the road, so we were booked solid. Nadira was finishing her year and had a lot of exams, she was studying real hard, because she didn't want to have to redo exams or anything like that. We would call sometimes, but hardly ever saw each other.

So, when the night of the bonfire had arrived I was really excited to see her, Jake and I were there early, as was Nessie since she had come with him. Finally I saw Leah and Tom arrive, so I knew Nadira would be close by, yep, there she was, talking and laughing with Nessie, I resisted the urge to go to her immediately, I knew they also had seen very little of each other so I didn't want to disturb their catching up.

Waiting seemed to take forever, but eventually she spotted me and beckoned me to come to her with a simple hand gesture. She smiled at me and I pulled her into a tight hug.

"I missed you little one" I whispered into her hair.

"Yeah, me too. Luckily I'm done with school for this year now, so I'll have more free time" she said grinning as she pulled away from me.

"Well, let's go, Sam is about to start" we walked over to the huge fire that was burning.

First the twins birthday was celebrated, with the enormous amount of gifts that went along with it.

Then he told us that he was passing on leadership to Jake, so he could stop phasing, telling us that a few of the others wanted to stop phasing as well. Most of this was known already and this was just to make it official, but when he mentioned Leah and Tom in the list of wolves that would stop phasing everybody was surprised to say the least. There were a lot of curious looks going around, but Sam never specified, did this have something to do with their recent weird behavior, I promised myself I would find out, but was too preoccupied to worry about it right now.

Jake and me went to get something to drink for the girls, but more importantly we wanted to create some distance, so we could observe them, without our own emotions giving us away. Sam was telling about how wolves had a unique gift to recognize their soul mate if they ever laid eyes on them, that it was called imprinting. He spoke of the elders and how they thought it was pretty rare for it to happen, but since a lot of pack members had imprinted they didn't think it was that rare at all.

During this time my eyes didn't leave Nadira, trying to see what she was thinking and how she was taking it, I saw understanding pass her face, but also a look that I didn't understand. Then she looked at Tom and Leah, who nodded at her answering her silent question if they had imprinted, then she glanced at me, but looked away again, before I was able to read her expression.

After the story was finished Jake and I walked back to the girls, that's when it happened, Nadira looked up at me very seriously and said…

"I know why you didn't want to tell me about imprinting, I understand now"

~*~

POV: Nadira

~*~

Embry and Jacob left us to get some drinks, that's when Sam started telling the story, talking about soul mates, that if a wolf laid eyes upon his, that he would instantly know she was the one he was destined to be with. Imprinting he called it, after an imprint had taken place they would be tied together from that point on, the intensity of their feelings never faltering.

Looking around me at the couples, I was trying to figure out which ones had imprinted, when my gaze reached Tom and Leah, I wondered if they had imprinted to. Reading the unspoken question in my eyes they both nodded in answer, so they had, they didn't look forced or anything, more grateful than anything. By the way the other couples were with each other in similar ways as my foster parents, so I concluded that they had all imprinted on their partners.

Wow, indeed it wasn't rare at all I counted eleven couples, there were 19 wolves in total, including Leah but still, that's a lot. So chances are, that they will all imprint eventually, I mean they practically had forever if they just keep phasing until their imprint came along. That means that Embry would imprint someday too, with that thought I glanced at him, but looked away quickly. The thought of him with another women made my heart clench, not that I was jealous or anything, but it just meant that he wouldn't be spending time with me anymore.

That's what he was afraid of, I had come to depend so much on him, he thought I would fear the day he would imprint and be lonely again. Well I had to make sure he knew I was ok, even if I was scared, it was the least I could do, I didn't want him feeling guilty for something that hadn't even happened jet. So, when he and Jake returned to us I would reassure him that there was nothing to worry about.

"I know why you didn't want to tell me about imprinting, I understand now" I said honestly.

"Wh-what?" his voice faltering.

"Yeah I get it, but it's ok, really you don't have to worry about me" when he didn't say anything I explained further.

"I know that you'll imprint one day and wouldn't be able to be there as much for me, but that's ok, I don't mind" when I finished I had to fight hard to keep my voice normal, but with the thought in mind that he couldn't help it if he would imprint, so I managed . His face contorted with pain.

"You wouldn't mind?" he questioned cautiously.

"Well of course I would miss you, but I'm a lot better now" his face relaxed a bit, but still wasn't happy with what I said. That's when I saw Nessie and Jacob away, she was clearly upset with him, I wondered what he had done now.

"Are you coming?" Tom and Leah were ready to go home.

"Yeah ok, I'll be right there" I replied.

"I have to go Em, see you soon" I wanted to hold him close, but if I did I was sure that I would break down in tears, so I fought the urge and walked away.

* * *

**AN:** Let me know what you think!


	9. Family

**Disclaimer: Twilight is all Stephanie Meyer, I own nothing.**

**AN: **Thanks everybody who added my story to your favorite and alert list and of course those of you who are reviewing, love ya! My internet connection has been out all day, I thought I'd go crazy, it just came back online again so I immediately updated the chapter I'd finished hours ago! Hope you like it;)

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Family

~*~

POV: Nadira

~*~

Later that night Nessie called me, we had grown accustomed to calling each other at night, to talk about everything and nothing, I knew she had been upset earlier tonight and she hadn't told me what was going on yet, so when the phone rang I already knew it was her without looking at the caller ID.

"Hey Nessie, are you ok?"

"No…" was all I could make out as the rest of her words were spoken through loud sobs. I was startled by the sound of it, as long as I'd known her she hadn't been this upset. We wouldn't get far like this, a face to face conversation would be much better.

"Do you want me to come over?" I asked.

"Oh, Nady you're such a good friend, are you sure you don't mind?" she sounded a bit calmer now, but her voice was still shaky.

"Are you kidding me, of course not, I'll have to ask first tough, can you hang on for a bit?" without waiting for an answer I bounded down the stairs, which resulted in two pairs of huge worried eyes looking at me when I came into the living room.

"Jeez, guys, don't overreact! There's nothing wrong, well not with me anyway. Nessie is really upset can I go over there and stay the night?" Tom and Leah looked at each other for a moment to discuss it silently.

"Sure, go get your things, I'll drop you of when you're ready" Tom said.

"Yay! Thanks guys, I'll make it quick!" and I ran back to my room.

"Nessie, I can come over, Tom is driving me, I'll be there soon ok?" my bag was already out of my closet while I was still on the phone.

"Great, I'm glad you're gonna be here soon, I really need you right now" she started sobbing again.

I finished packing within minutes and figured that if I would forget something I could borrow it from Nessie, downstairs I hugged Leah goodbye and got in the car with Tom. Driving took us about 20 minutes, when the massive house came into view I suddenly realized I would be spending the night in a house full of vampires. Tom noticed my worried look and reassured me that I would be fine.

"They're vegetarians remember? No human blood" oh yeah, that's right, I remember Nessie showing me that.

"If you're uncomfortable at anytime call me and I'll pick you up" he added.

"Thanks Tom" and I hugged him. We got out of the car and we walked up to the house, Nessie and a extremely white man were already waiting for us by the front door. Nessie jumped down the steps and flew into my arms, almost knocking me over, tears started flowing from her face as soon as she had her arms around me.

"Well I can see that you're clearly needed here" Tom laughed shaking the guys hand.

"Hi Edward, how've you been?" this must be Nessie's dad.

"Excellent, apart from my daughter's current condition, but I'm sure it will be only temporary" he said calmly.

"Leah wants you to call us tomorrow, ok Nady?" Tom said as he turned back to me again.

"Yeah, that's ok, I'll call you guys tomorrow, thanks for driving me" I replied.

"Anytime kid" and he drove off.

"Well girls, I think it's best if we take this inside. Hello Nadira, I'm Edward, Nessie's father" I nodded and mumbled a 'nice to meet you' in response, I was still very nervous, if they would ever resort to human's blood, they wouldn't eat a friend of Nessie would they. Edward was chuckling when we walked inside.

"There's no need for concern we've had quite a bit of endurance exercise and we most certainly would not ever eat a friend of Nessie's" oh yeah, he was the mind reader, I forgot about that, Nessie eyed me questioningly.

"I'm sorry, it was in my mind before I really thought about it" I smiled at them apologetically.

Nessie showed me to her room after I was introduced to the family members I hadn't met yet, there was already an extra bed set up in her room. We changed into our pj's and talked for hours before going to sleep. Nessie felt betrayed by Jake, she couldn't understand how he had let them get so close with an impending imprint hanging over his head. He had been like a brother to her, a best friend, her only friend for a long time before I had come to La Push.

I understood how she felt, just like me only ten times worse, Embry and me had only met a couple of months ago, while Jake had been there for Nessie her whole life. We decided us girls should stick together and show those wolves that we could do without them.

~*~

The next few weeks Nessie and me spend every day together, constantly staying over at each other's house. We would see Embry from time to time when we were at my place, but Nessie's need for me, was a perfect excuse to avoid him, I wanted to see him and I wasn't angry or anything like that, but I wanted to prepare myself. On top of that, I was starting to see Embry differently, I had even dreamed about him kissing me!

Nessie had banned Jake completely from her life, wouldn't take his calls made her parents send him away if he came by her house, nobody could convince her to talk to him, we all would try constantly because she was getting more depressed every day and Jake was looking like he hadn't eaten or slept since they were fighting.

Eventually with Jake's birthday only a couple of days away I got through.

"Nessie, you have to, he wants to cancel the entire party!"

"Really, is he doing that bad?" when I saw the light in her eyes I went on.

"Yeah he's terrible, he misses you so badly, please talk to him"

"Ok, ok, I'll call him" she flipped open her phone, dialed his number and waited for him to pick up.

"Jake?" I could hear his excited yelling on the other end.

"Yeah Jake, I miss you to" she sighed "you're right we should talk, but not right now, at your party ok?"

~*~

As soon as we arrived at Jake and Embry's house, Jake pulled Nessie away, he was gonna hold her to her promise. Embry and me stood there in silence, I was so tense around him, the dream of the kiss had repeated itself and I couldn't stop thinking about it.

Every time I looked at him he felt less like a best friend and more like something else, although I didn't know exactly what. After a while I felt so lonely, pining for him to hold me or hug me or anything, but he was busy talking to his friends, checking up on me once in a while, but I wanted to go home and crawl into bed. So I asked Tom and Leah to wish Jake a happy birthday for me and tell Nessie that I would not be staying over at her house tonight, and I went home and cried myself to sleep.

~*~

The next morning I woke when I heard a soft knocking on my door.

"Nadira, are you up?" Leah was standing in my doorway.

"Yeah, I'm awake why?" usually that let me sleep in, so I wondered what was going on.

"Could you come down, we would like to talk to you" I wonder what about.

"Sure, I'll be right down" now I was really curious. Quickly I got dressed and went down to the kitchen, they were both sitting at the kitchen table.

"Good morning, do you want something to eat?" Tom asked me.

"No thanks, I'm not hungry. So what did you want to talk about?" just let them get it out.

"Well, you've probably wondered since the bonfire why Tom and I wanted to stop phasing, so we wanted to explain to you" Leah started.

"For a long time I thought I wasn't able to have children, when I transformed into a wolf for the first time, my monthly cycle disappeared. However, when I hadn't phased for a month, because I was preparing for your stay with us, it returned. So we want stop phasing completely, to see if we're able to conceive, and since you've been with us for almost six months we wanted to talk to you about it." My time was up, I suddenly realized, they we're going to tell me that I'd have to leave soon, they were going to start their own family, a real family, my head dropped down.

"Oh no, Nadira, you're getting the wrong idea" Leah's worried voice made me lift my head back up again.

"We want you to be part of our family, we want you to stay permanently and find out how you would feel about that and about us trying to have a baby" she blurted out.

"Really, you want me to stay?" Leah's face held a relieved expression.

"Yes we would, we want you to be ours, officially, we want to adopt you, we love you!" she said happily.

"Wh-what?" are they serious, I got that wrong right?

"You can think about it if you want, we understand" Tom said to me.

"No!" Leah's face fell.

"No, I don't have to think about it! I would love it if you guys adopted me, and I've always wanted a little brother or sister!" I ran to them, never wanting them to let me go. I was crying and sobbing loudly as was Leah, Tom was shushing to calm us down, but I didn't want to because we were crying happy tears. After standing like that for at least ten minutes, we finally let each other go.

"We'll get the papers ready then" Tom told me.

"Thanks, and…" I hesitated for a moment, but continued when I knew I would be telling me the truth.

"I love you both, thanks" I said it very soft, but they heard me. This resulted in another crying session from Leah and me, but eventually we calmed down. I ran upstairs to call Nessie, I was so happy my heart felt like it would burst out of my chest. When she picked up, I screamed into the phone.

"Nessie, Nessie, I'm staying, they're gonna adopt me!" Now it was Nessie's turn to screech.

"That's totally awesome! I'm so happy you're staying, I was afraid that I would lose my best friend if you did, so now I won't!"

**~*~**

Nessie and Jake had worked things out on his birthday, she had to tell me everything afterwards , since I had left the party early. So after I told her about the adoption, we had a long talk about her and Jake. She had been having more feelings for him for a while, but until that night, she didn't realize how bad it had gotten.

She told me she loved him, and wasn't about to let him go, so she would make sure he was hers, before he imprinted. For a moment I questioned her feelings, but later I realized that she wouldn't pretend, just to keep him close. She even had thought up a plan, to achieve her goal.

According to her I should do the same with Embry, but I kept denying I had those kind of feelings for him. Besides, I wasn't going to take the risk, only to have my heart broken. I had talked to Leah about it, she had told me that even though she was engaged to Sam, and they had been together for four years. He had left her the moment he imprinted on Emily, leaving her heartbroken. Her depression had lasted pretty much until she had met Tom, years later.

But Nessie claimed she loved Jacob too much, she was going to try. It didn't work, her advances were severely misunderstood by Jacob, so she got nowhere with him. Now we were preparing for our birthday party, we had already gone shopping with Alice. Nessie's was a deep burgundy, with a considerable amount of cleavage. Mine covered more, because Alice knew that I preferred that, it was an emerald green one, I loved it.

~*~

At the party things were great, even Embry and me were able to ignore most of our awkwardness during the night. He had gotten me such sweet gifts, a charm bracelet, with two charms, one with a rice grain in glass, which was engraved with my knew name 'Nadira Istaqa' and another of a wolf, I loved them.

Later we saw Nessie push Jacob against a tree and plant her lips firmly on his. Embry and I were shocked, he because she was doing this, I because I didn't think she'd go through with her plan. Later when they came back, it turned out Jake did return her feelings at least as heavily as hers. Finally I had been able to admit to her, that I did have feelings for Embry, maybe if she got her man, I could get mine.

~*~

Nessie's words kept going through my head, she had made me admit to myself that I did have feelings for Embry, who wouldn't he's so sweet and funny and sexy, yes sexy, come on look at the guy! His face was engraved in my memory, so I had been looking at him in my mind all day long, thinking about his eyes his beautiful smile. Then there was his body, tall and muscular, not bulky like a bodybuilder's, but lean and supple like an athlete's. His smooth dark skin stretched out over his broad chest and rock hard abs, I mean, if that isn't yummy what is?!

Tomorrow school would start, and since I still had to take drivers ed. he was going to drive me, I wonder how it would be. The thought alone, of being near him, made me nervous. I was so scared of the idea of our relationship changing, afraid of rejection, afraid of letting him, a guy, get so close to me. Worries and doubts were good for nothing, Nessie had said when I called her to talk about it.

I chuckled to myself, as I thought about Nessie, now that she had successfully acquired girlfriend status with Jacob, she suddenly saw herself as an expert on anything love related. The way they were acting last night, dancing and kissing, in front of everybody! If I didn't know any better I'd say he had imprinted on her, my thoughts were brought to a halt, had he imprinted on her?

~*~

The next morning Embry walked into the house as I was finishing my breakfast, Leah and Tom had already gone to work, I could feel his eyes on me, oh my god, I am pathetic, I can't even look at him.

He cleared his throat "Good morning Nadira"

"What's so good about it" I mumbled under my breath.

"Well aren't we in a good mood today" he clearly mistook my case of the gitters for grumpiness.

"Shall we get going" desperately wanting to change the subject, as I was sure he was about to ask me what was going on, and he would surely see right through my lie.

"Ok, sure" slightly taken aback by my abruptness.

The drive to school was silent and uncomfortable, when we got there he handed me my backpack, our hands touched and I gasped at the contact, I looked at him and saw his expression change, I got out quickly, before I'd have a nervous breakdown. The rest of the week our drives together were similar to the one we had the first morning.

It was a good thing that I had gotten to know Taylan and Logan so well, school had become fun, I had always been able to get good grades without working very hard, so most of my time was spent goofing around with the two young wolves.

~*~

When the week was out I was sitting with Nessie on the sand of First Beach, it was early September so the weather was still good, the guys were meeting us after work. We were talking about Jake and her, all the girly details I needed, if things weren't going well for me in the boyfriend department, at least I could live vicariously through her. She and Jake were moving quite fast, she said it was because they had been friends for such a long time an knew each other so well. She advised me to accidentally bump in to Embry and stuff like that, she said that physical contact was always good to measure response.

~*~

After the week Tom had taken me to school, it was Embry's week again and I got my first good opportunity to test the waters. I was standing on a stool to reach one of the cabinets to grab a new pack of coffee, but I still couldn't reach it, I was too damn short! That's when Embry walked in, chuckling loudly at the sight of me struggling.

"What _are _you doing little one? You're waaaay too short!" too short, my ass, I'll show him, within moments he stood next to me "here let me do that, before you hurt yourself"

He reached up to the coffee without much effort, I turned to look at him angrily, but forgot everything else when I saw how close our faces were. He was still smiling, but when he saw me looking at him, it quickly disappeared and looked into my eyes, we stood there gazing into each other's eyes.

My heart picked up its pace and I could feel butterflies fluttering inside of me, locked in his stare, all I wanted to do was lean upwards and kiss him, his mouth was so close to mine, but I didn't dare to and looked away. With that our moment was over, but there was definitely a moment.

"Ahem" we both jumped at the sound of Leah's voice.

"Good morning" I said quickly "I thought you would be gone already"

"Yeah, but I think this not phasing is bringing out the human weakness in me. I woke up feeling so tired and I've got a headache too, so I'm staying home today"

"Oh ok" she did look tired, hope she would feel better soon.

"So shall we go?" Embry asked.

"Sure, bye Leah" our drive was even more uncomfortable today, I was glad to see Taylan waiting for me in the parking lot. I quickly got out and waved goodbye without really looking.

"Hey, where did you leave Logan?" at that he started chuckling loudly and leaned heavily on me with his arm around my shoulders, barely able to hold himself up from laughing

"He got himself into detention last week, but instead of having to stay after school, he has to be here an hour early every day, for a MONTH!" before he was even finished I was laughing to, Logan always got himself into trouble, silly boy.

I got the sudden feeling that someone was watching me, I turned around to see that Embry was still sitting there in his truck looking very angry, what was his problem now. When Taylan spotted Embry he quickly dropped his arm, Embry wouldn't be jealous now would he, that thought brought a smile to my face.

The day passed quickly, this year I had all my classes with at least one of the twins again, just like last year, we were walking outside to their car. Just when we were about to get in we spotted Embry, he had been leaning on the hood of his truck but was now walking towards us.

"What's going on Embry? What are you doing here, I've already got a ride remember?" this seemed to make him mad.

"You're coming with me!" he growled at me, I had never seem him like this, he was scaring me. He was turning heading towards his car, I froze, then I was backing up and clutching Taylors arm, while getting behind him.

Embry realized I wasn't walking with him and turned around, when he saw me standing behind Taylan I saw anger flash in his eyes, I recognized that look, I'd seen it many times in my father's.

"You're not taking me anywhere like that" shaking my head to support my statement.

"What are you on about, you need to come with me, it's an emergency!" he came towards us and I crawled further behind Taylor, he grabbed my hand to reassure me.

"Just drive to her house and we'll follow you. She'll be ok with us, promise" Logan was trying to reason with Embry.

"Who said you were invited" he was looking more at Taylan than at Logan, I squeezed his hand to thank him that he was standing up for me.

"If it concerns Nady, I'm coming!" Taylan said loudly. This caused Embry to growl at Taylan, but he didn't move an inch.

"Look, you're scaring her man! We'll get her home" Logan said firmly to Embry, his look went from anger to shame as he suddenly understood why I was clamping on to Taylan.

"Fine, I'll see you there" he said with a chocked up voice and walked to the car.

"Come on, we'll take you home" Logan said while getting in the driver seat. Taylan got in the back seat with me.

"Are you ok?" he asked me.

"What is wrong with him? Why is he acting like that? I don't understand, what have I done wrong?" I was scanning my brain for information on what the cause was for his behavior, of course it would be something I'd done.

"It's not you Nady, you haven't done anything. Something is going on, that's why he is mad, he's not angry with you or anything" Taylan was softly rubbing my back.

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**AN: **Please leave me a comment, I love them!


	10. I will

**Disclaimer: Twilight is all Stephanie Meyer, I own nothing.**

**AN: **Thanks for reviewing everybody!!! So, I stayed up very late last night to write another chapter, very tired now, but I think it was worth it, you can be the judge of that tough ;)

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I will

~*~

POV: Nadira

~*~

After thirty minutes we got to my house, we had taken a detour so I had the chance to calm down a bit, the guys walked in with me. In the living room Embry was sitting on the couch with some woman with his arm around her shoulder, while she had her face buried in his chest, that's when I flipped!

"Who do you think you are!? First you show up at school like that, then you get mad at Taylan for sticking up for me and now you're cozying up with some woman!" with that I walk up the stairs, I suddenly get the strong urge to try and make him jealous, so halfway up I turn and say "Taylan are you coming?"

Who looks baffled at my outburst and more importantly at my invitation to my bedroom, he started walking up the stairs behind me. Never had I asked a boy up to my room and I had no other intention behind it than to get my point across, Embry looks at me like just slapped him across the face, but I was too angry to care.

Once in my room I sat down on my bed not knowing what to say, as Taylan sat down next to me.

"Uh, I'm sorry for doing that, I am just so mad at him, I wanted to make him jealous, not that it'll work though"

"Oh it'll work all right, trust me, but he kinda deserves it, with the way he treated you. But I do think it's better if you talk to him, I'm sure he didn't mean it like that, there has to be a reason for his behavior" I hoped he was right, but I wouldn't find out anything up in my room.

"Yeah you're right, better head downstairs again" just when I turned the corner from my room to the hallway, Embry was walking towards me, his face was contorted with pain and I suddenly felt sorry for hurting him like that. Before I could rationalize I crushed into him and held him like my life depended on it, he quickly wrapped his arms around me and pulled me to him.

Taylan walked past us "I'll leave you two alone, I'll be downstairs"

"Oh sweetie, I'm so sorry, I was so mad when I went to pick you up, I know I shouldn't have taken it out on you. It only got worse when I saw you with Taylan" his voice was breaking "I'm sorry Nady, but we need to talk, Leah and Tom are also downstairs"

Reluctantly I released one of my arms and walked downstairs with him, not wanting to let him go , I kept my arm around his lover back and held on tightly. When we got to the living room Tom was sitting on the couch with Leah on his lap, she had obviously been crying. Next to them was sitting the woman, who I know recognized as Susan my former social worker, she was also very upset, this had to be big, so I sat down.

"Ok, we have talked about your father's impending case and that the chances that he got out were very slim. He seems to have gotten someone to make a false statement, which said that he actually the one who committed the crime" Tom told me, he appeared to be the only one able to make coherent sentences.

"S-so, he _is _getting out?" no, no, no ,nooooo…

"No sweetie, he already is" Leah added sorrowful "and from what I understand, he's very likely to come looking for you." I reached out a blind hand to find Embry, he understood and seized it scooting closer to me, I clamped on to him, trying to hide myself in him. He was gently stroking my back and held me close with his other hand, holding his chin slightly on top of my head.

We stayed in the living room and eventually Taylan, Logan and Suzan left, Embry was still sitting next to me holding me close to him. Exhaustion crept over me, it wasn't late but fear has a way of wearing me out, Embry notices my pointless efforts to stay awake.

"Nadira you're practically asleep already, you need to get some rest. Come on let's get you in bed" he stands up and scoops me up into his arms, hmm so warm, so strong, I nuzzle into the crook of his neck.

When we get to my room, I get changed quickly in the bathroom, he's holding up the covers so I can slide right in, bending down he places a soft kiss on my forehead.

"Sleep tight, Nady" he whispers to me. Just when he gets up to leave I grab his hand and look up at him pleading.

"Please don't go, stay with me" I'm not thinking anymore, I let my instincts take over, they are speaking loud and clear 'Embry needs to stay'

"I'll just let Leah and Tom know ok" I let him go reluctantly and he steps out of the room. Within minutes he's back in some shorts and a T-shirt, I recognize them as Tom's, then he starts pulling a chair up next to my bed.

"Em, what are you doing?" he looks at me in confusion as I pull away the blankets as a silent invitation to join me. He takes of his T-shirt and slides in to bed with me, it's a fairly big bed, but it's still too small for him. When he lays down, I snuggle into him and place my head on his warm chest, he pulls me close and starts drawing soothing circles on my back, within moments I fall into a deep sleep.

~*~

My eyes flutter open at the sunrays sneaking their way down to my pillow, why aren't the curtains closed, then the horror of last night comes back to me, directly followed by the memory of Embry getting into bed with me. He is laying behind me, with my back to his front, his arm is holding me pressed against him and I can't help but smile.

Slowly and very carefully I turn under his arm and rest my head on my elbow to get a better look at him, his face looks so peaceful when he sleeps, he really is beautiful, hot yes, but he has this rugged handsomeness. His high cheekbones, beautiful eyes, even though they are closed now, I can see them without trying, and full luscious lips.

Without thinking I trace his jaw line with the tip my finger, following along his chin, down his neck and on to his collarbone, all the way down to his chest and abs. That's where I start thinking again and realize what I'm doing and pull back my hand, what would he think if he woke up with me touching him like that, I chuckle to myself.

He's stirring and his breath changes rhythm, finally his eyes open slowly, a smile creeps on to his face when he sees me, I blush because he caught me looking at him. He sighs deeply and he looks… happy, he pulls me to him so my head lays down on his chest, I let out the breath that I'd been holding and relax myself against him.

"How did you sleep?" he breaks the silence.

"Great, thanks to you. And you, did you sleep well?"

"Well, just when I was falling asleep you started talking, so I stayed awake to listen to you" talking? Did we talk, how do I know nothing about that? He chuckles at my confusion.

"You talked… in your sleep" what?!

"I-in my s-sleep, what d-did I s-say?" I'm so embarrassed I can hardly talk.

"Well, not so much unfortunately, but you did mention my name" my head whipped up to look at his face, he was smiling so widely I thought his face would break.

I grabbed a pillow "nah, you're making that up" and I hit him in the head with the pillow in my hand.

"You're so gonna get it now!" he was just about to hit me back, when a knock sounded on my door, Tom's head peeked in.

"You better make sure Leah doesn't find out you two slept in the same bed!" he grinned at us. Ooh, I was so humiliated by finding us in bed like that "Embry, the meeting is in an hour, so you better hurry up" he said before closing the door.

Embry was ready to start up the pillow fight until he saw my face.

"What meeting?"

"Oh, don't worry baby, please. We're just gonna talk about our options, you know, since it's our job to protect everyone on the rez, that's includes you now" he tried to keep the conversation light by joking a little bit.

"Will you be back straight after?" doubt had gone out the window yesterday, I had fallen for him so hard, sure I was still frightened of all that could go wrong, but it wasn't enough to stop me from speaking my mind any more.

"Of course I will" he exclaimed "I'm not gonna let anyone hurt you, you know that right" he said anyone, but meant my father, and I trusted him.

~*~

POV: Leah

~*~

Nadira and I were both sitting in the kitchen waiting for them to return, I thought about everything that happened yesterday. Tom was worried sick over me not feeling well, I had to practically force him to go to work. Looking back on it now, I was so glad I had stayed home, if I had been at work when Susan found me I would have certainly broken down.

After she had told me what was going on I called Tom and Embry to explain, Embry would pick up Nadira afraid that her father might go there, Tom came home immediately. Susan had started crying, this was personal for her too, since she was a close friend of the family. but I didn't know what to do with her, I am so bad with stuff like that.

Luckily Embry walked in and I gestured to him that he should comfort her, he looked at me with a face that said 'do I have to'. While she was sobbing in his shirt he was trying to get her to calm down he was shooting irritated glares at me. That's when Nadira walked in and freaked out at the sight of him with Susan, oh great Leah, you've done it now. Guilt consumed me at the sight of his pain depicting face, when she made Taylan come upstairs with her, I was fully aware that she was doing this out of spite.

Susan whipped her face around to take in the scene that had played out in the hallway, and muttered something about how nice it was that Nadira had a boyfriend, meaning Taylan of course. Embry shot up from the couch growling at her and headed to the stairs, with the intention of hauling Taylan back down again, but with great effort Tom and we were able to restrain him.

After explaining to him that his angry reaction was precisely what she had aimed for, but was definitely not what she needed right now, he calmed down a bit. Reassuring me that he would go upstairs, simply to talk to her, to straighten everything out and within minutes he had came back to the living room, with Nadira by his side.

Without fully realizing it, Nadira had clung to Embry in her hour of need, in a way I had not seen her do before today. She had let him comfort her before, but this was different, she had searched for him blindly knowing that he would be there and had literally clamped on to him, as soon as she came to the realization that this was serious.

Even when he carried her upstairs to her room she had let him, without any form of protest, she was satisfied as long as he was close. So when Embry had come down to ask me if he could stay in her room, on the chair of course, I granted him permission. Simply because I didn't have the heart to refuse them the comfort Tom and I found in each other, even if I knew perfectly well that he would not be sleeping on the small sofa she had in her room.

A sound outside brought me out of my thought, not much time after that we heard the door open and footsteps entering the house . Directly I dialed Tom's number, he picked up his phone after one ring and I whispered in the phone that we needed them here now. Nadira flew to the door but skidded to a halt when she saw who it was, slowly but surely I saw her backing up. I took three quick strides so I was right behind her and she bumped into me "I've already called Tom" I whispered in her ear and set myself in front of my girl.

"Who are you and what are you doing in my home?" I demanded.

"I have come to claim my daughter. You are relieved from your duty miss" he said to me, he hadn't come alone two men that are clearly from Arabic origin.

"Haven't you gotten the paperwork, she no longer is your daughter, she is ours now"

"I do not care what your law says, she is mine by blood and always will be, so hand her over to me now!" he was getting angry now, I felt myself starting to shake and Nadira grabbed my hand.

"No Leah, you can't phase, you've waited so long and then you would have to start all over again!" low enough for her father not to hear, but her voice sounded scared, which only made me angrier.

"I will if I have to, even if it means starting over" I wasn't going to let her get hurt, no matter what.

"I do not have the time for this nonsense, nor do I have the patience!" her father stepped forward and reached out for Nadira's hand, but I pushed him away, or rather I tried, but he simply flung me to the ground. What was this, how could this be but I didn't have any time to think about it as Nadira's father now had a firm grip on her and started pulling her outside.

I tried to phase, I was angry enough, but it didn't work. Oh my god! Tom, you better get here fast! I pulled myself up from the floor and ran outside, were a relief washed over me. They still had her, but were surrounded by six big wolves that I recognized as Tom, Embry, Jake, Seth, Taylan and Logan.

"Let me go now!" Nadira had lost her fear and I saw anger manifest itself on her face. Her father seemed shocked by this and let go of her hand.

Embry and Tom broke the line and as Tom headed for me, Embry stepped forward in wolf form so he stood next to Nadira. There he put his head on her shoulder, she turned and buried her face in his thick fur. With Embry so close to her she gathered all her courage and started talking.

"This is my home! You can't take me anywhere, my family won't let you! Never will you have anything to say over me ever again!" she kept her hand twirling with Embry's fur the whole time she spoke.

Her father changed tactics "Nadira, my child, you know I love you. I will never hurt you again, I promise" a low growl came from Embry "look at what you are doing standing there with that wolf, that thing will kill you, it's dangerous!" still growling Embry bared his teeth at her father.

"Shh, it's ok, let him talk, I don't care what he says" Nadira was stroking the soft fur in his neck and he relaxed again, soon he and Tom disappeared in the woods, while the other wolves held ground and within moment they emerged from another part of the forest, trying to be inconspicuous.

They quickly returned to our sides, Tom was concerned, he knew something didn't add up, but now was not the time to talk about it. Embry took his place by Nadira and protectively put his arm around her waist, she leaned into him and put her hand on his bare chest. Her father's face colored red and lost his patience again.

"Nadira, remove your hands from that man, I have found a suitable husband for you! You are in obvious need of one, even if you if this one has already defiled you!" clearly disgusted with the idea, he pulled one of the men he had with him to the front "here, this is your cousin from Lebanon, he will be a good husband for you, make you see the error of your ways!"

Nadira's eyes turned wide in shock, sinking more into Embry with each word. Embry on his turn started shaking violently, but remained in control of himself and the shudders faded again.

"She does not belong with you, she is not yours to give away!" he roared "She belongs with me!" he gazed into her eyes and lovingly he placed a kiss on Nadira's forehead.

"You are nothing to me, don't ever come back to my home or disturb my family ever again!" Nadira shouted at him. Grabbing Embry's hand she walked back to the house without looking back, Embry at her side.

"Well you've heard her, get out of here, before we make you!" Tom threatened him with disdain seeping through his voice and the wolves baring their teeth at the men growling with fury. Finally admitting to the fact that they were seriously outnumbered, they gave up and got in their car. But Tom stopped them before they drove off, making them swear never to return, having learned enough of their culture to know that they would keep to their promise.

~*~

The wolves headed for the woods the moment the car disappeared from our sight, to return in human form. Once we were inside, we found Embry and Nadira on the couch in the living room, she was staring of into nowhere while Embry was gently rocking her. He had a look of desperation on his face, asking me what to do with one look and I sat down beside her.

"Nadira sweetie you're safe with us, he's gone and he's not coming back"

"Yes, I know" she said calmly and a small smile appeared "I knew he would, I just can't wrap my mind around the fact that I will never have to deal with him again"

"Well, you better get used to it, little one" Embry said into her hair, she looked up to him her eyes full of gratitude, hope and understanding.

"Come on guys, I'll make you something to eat, Nadira will you help me?" she nodded to me and we walked into the kitchen, but Tom grabbed me before I could get to the fridge.

"Not so fast you!" turning me in his arms to look at him "what was going on out there?" he was eyeing me suspiciously "I thought you would have phased before he could get to Nadira!"

"I couldn't" looking down and barely making a sound.

"What do you mean you couldn't?!" the rest of them were looking at me now too.

"Well, I tried to shove him away when he wanted to grab her, but he pushed me off without much effort. Then I tried to phase, I was angry enough, but I couldn't, it just didn't happen"

Everybody was looking at me in shock and Tom started pulling me towards the door, of course I had no way to match his strength now, which made my struggling futile.

"What are you doing? Where are you going?" I almost yelled at him.

"You're tired, you feel weak and now you can't phase?! We're going to see Carlisle, something is seriously wrong with you!" fear was dripping from his voice, then Nadira ran to me and wrapped her arms around me.

"I'm so grateful for everything Leah, thank you so much" her words brought tears to my eyes "but I'm worried for you, this does not sound good, please go with Tom so Carlisle can make sure you are ok" pleading with me.

"All right, I'll go" he finally refrained from pulling me "Nadira can you make something to eat for the guys?" she nodded and returned to the kitchen.

~*~

We had been at the Cullen's for an hour now and the waiting is driving me crazy, I didn't want to admit it to anyone, but I was honestly concerned that there was something very wrong with me, after what seemed like an eternity Carlisle came back into his office.

"Well, I've run some tests on the blood I've drawn from you earlier and it seems congratulations are in order" confused we waited for him to explain "you two are going to be parents!"

"A-are you s-sure?" Tom asked him, my mouth was still hanging open.

"Absolutely positive, by the level of HCG in your blood I'd say you're about 5 weeks along" Carlisle smiled at us.

Tom jumped up from his chair, seized me and twirled me around in the air "oh, Tom put me down" I giggled "I'm gonna be sick"

That made him stop instantly of course "I'm sorry are you ok, do you need anything?"

"Yeah I'm fine, that works like a charm though!"

"You tricked me?" he gaped at me.

"Hmm, o sure" but other thoughts entered my mind.

"Carlisle, how would a pregnancy explain all the symptoms I'm experiencing?"

"Well, I've got a theory about that, it seems like this is your body's manor of protecting the fetus, phasing might damage the baby. So I think in order to keep you from phasing your body, your body disabled you to prevent it from happening"

"That sounds logical to me" Tom said and looked at me hoping that this would put me at ease, since it did sound reasonable my worries were put to rest, at least for now.

"Thank you Carlisle, could we make another appointment for next week, I would live to get home and tell Nadira, she must be worried out of her mind by now."

"Of course, just give me a call when you're ready" we shook his hand and walked hand in hand to the car. Tom pulled our intertwined fingers to his lips and placed a soft kiss on them.

"I love you so much Leah, words simply aren't enough"

We drove back home constantly smiling at each other, we were actually going to have a baby, so long I've wanted this, I placed a hand on my lower belly, it was so unreal to think that there was a life growing inside of me. Back home I quickly got out of the car, wanting to share our good news, I grabbed a grinning Tom and pulled him inside.

They were all sitting together so quietly, as soon as we walked in Nadira jumped up from her seat, confused at our happy faces.

"Nothing's wrong!" my statement was loud and abrupt and created more questioning looks.

"What is it then?" Nadira was looking almost… irritated, Embry grabbed her hand and stood behind her shushing.

"You're gonna have a baby brother or sister!" I exclaimed. Embry let her hand go and his jaw dropped, he wasn't in on our attempt to add a member to our family, but Nadira started squealing and jumping up and down.

"Really, really, this sooo cool you guys! So how long have you been pregnant? Does this have anything to do with you phasing problem? Is that why you were sick?" Nadira was bombarding us with questions, I had no idea she was going to be this excited.

"Wow, Nadira calm down" Embry said from behind her.

"Are you kidding me, I'm gonna be a big sis! This is 'shouting it of the rooftop' stuff!"

* * *

**AN:** Hope you liked it!


	11. Perfect

**Disclaimer: Twilight is all Stephanie Meyer, I own nothing.**

**AN: **Sorry for not updating yesterday, my writing wasn't done before my classes, so I couldn't finish the chapter before this morning.

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Perfect

~*~

POV: Nadira

~*~

Taking 2 steps at a time, I flew up the stairs, sure I wanted to call Nessie but I was racing out of the living room to hide my red face. Jeez, I don't know what came over me! I was so happy and excited it just happened really, before I had thought about it my lips were on his, just for an instant, but long enough for me to feel the jolt of electricity run through me. Practically laughing out loud I thought about Embry's reaction, or better said the lack of a one, he froze on the spot, still chuckling I entered my room.

Phone, phone, where is my phone?! It's always like this, just when you need something it's…. Lifting my bag upside down to empty it, my phone fell out between the messy contents of my schoolbag. You've got to be kidding me, the battery's dead? Now I've gotta find the charger too! Rummaging through my drawers I finally spotted in and plugged in my phone, 'come on, come on, hurry up' I yelled mentally at my mobile.

When it's lights finally flickered on and I had entered my pin, an envelope was blinking in the corner. Probably Nessie, I hadn't talked to her since Sunday, which was really long for us,.26 messages and 53 missed calls, wow that's a lot, even for Nessie! Quickly I dialed her number and heard it ring once before hearing Nessie's voice.

"What took you so long?!" Nessie screamed.

"Yeez, I'm sorry! My battery was dead I didn't know you were trying to reach me, why didn't you call on the house phone?"

"This is waaaaay to private to be discussed on the house phone, Leah might be listening!"

"She wouldn't do that! Anyway spill it and fast, I've got a lot to tell you too!"

"Jake and I did it!" she whispered excited. Everything I wanted to tell Nessie floated to the back of my head.

"You didn't!"

"Yes we did, Saturday night, that's why I've been calling you since Sunday! Oh Nady, it was so great, he was so sweet!" she was so in love, it was ridiculous, which brought me back to a thought I had a while back.

"He imprinted on you, didn't he" it wasn't really a question, I just knew he did.

"How did you know?" Nessie sounded baffled.

"It's not that hard to figure out, besides, not even you would move that fast without the assurance of an imprint"

"You're right, he did. Please don't be mad that I didn't tell you?" she pleaded with me.

"No, I get it, Embry didn't want you to, right?" again, it wasn't an actual question, she answered me anyway.

"How did you get so insightful?" she asked me suspiciously.

"It's a long story, but I'm fairly certain Embry imprinted on me!" silence… "Nessie, you still there?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm here. You're gonna need to explain that" she said curiously

So I told everything that had happened yesterday and today, I told her about my father, how we expected him to come look for me. Nessie gasped and made angry sounds every once in a while, but kept listening, until I got to the part where I had asked Embry to stay with me through the night and invited him to sleep in my bed.

"Nadira, did you do that?!"

"Yeah, I didn't think really, I just wanted him to stay so bad, I was really upset"

Going on with my story, she giggled when I told her about what I did to a sleeping Embry when I woke up. The part where my father actually showed up and how he got past Leah was harder, it took me a lot of deep breaths to keep myself calm. Glad to be done with it we came to the point of discussion where Embry had told my father that I belonged with him and not with my father, how he had looked at me and kissed me on the forehead with so much love. Then combined it with everything that has happened in the last few months, I was surprised we didn't put it together sooner, but that's easy talking now. It's not so obvious when you're right in the middle of it, not able to take a step back and rationalize.

"I think you're right Nadira! But how did it end with your father?" she said the last word with disgust.

So continued telling her how I told him that he was nothing to me, that he had to go and never come back.

"Never have I talked like that to him, Embry gave me the strength to do it, knowing he would be there for me"

"So, is he gone now? For good?"

"Yeah, Tom threatened him after I was done and made him swear not to come back, that was smart of him, cause now I know for sure he won't come back"

"Why, he could have just lied?" Nessie didn't understand.

"No, honor means a lot in his culture, he can't go back on his word, it would dishonor him. The fact that I am no longer part of his life he can easily solve by disowning me, so that's different."

"I hope you are right"

"Oh my god! The reason I called you, was to tell you, I'm going to be a big sister, Leah and tom are having a baby!"

Nessie and I talked on the phone for at least an hour, theorizing about Embry and imprinting, Nessie reminiscing over her night with Jake, and about the baby that would arrive, well I didn't know when, but it would. Until Leah called me down to eat, everybody was still here, we all ate together like the big family that we were and we weren't even complete.

After dinner we sat down outside in the backyard, lighting a fire in the fire pit, I snuggled into Embry and he put his arm around me. Taylan and Logan left early, they had school tomorrow, I was excused for a day. Embry stayed, no one questioned him or me about it, he just seemed to belong.

"Uhm, is it ok if Embry stays over again tonight?" Embry tensed beside me and I felt his confused look on me, but I kept looking at Tom and Leah.

"I don't know Nadira" Tom said doubtfully.

"Please, since I don't have to go to school tomorrow, please"

"Well alright then, but on the sofa, just like last night" Leah said with a wink, that's when I realized she knew he slept in bed with me last night and would again tonight. Embry didn't ask about my request, I had never asked him to stay with me, but I knew he would anyway. We stayed outside talking and laughing for a long time, until I felt my eyes droop. Embry gathered me in his arms and stood with me in his arms, I mumbled a good night to Tom and Leah. My head was leaning onto his shoulder while he carried me up the stairs to my room, although I didn't remember getting there or laying down in bed.

~*~

When I woke up, moonlight was shining through the open curtains, I didn't mind them this time because it wasn't bothering me, it allowed me to actually see something. I pushed myself up to get a better look at the man lying next to me, just like last night he was wearing nothing but shorts.

I one the other hand was still wearing the same clothes I had on yesterday, all except for my shoes, which is probably the reason I woke up. Laying fully clothed in bed, with a wolf man to up the temperature even more, was bound to make a girl hot, no not like that, well that too, but I meant literally warm.

Quietly I got op and changed in the bathroom, when I was done I slid into bed again, Embry was still sleeping, a perfect opportunity for me to study his fine physique while he was blissfully unaware in a deep slumber. His lower half was covered by the sheets to leave his bare chest glistening in the moonlight. Just like on the morning we had woken up together, I couldn't fight the urge to touch him, so I did.

My hand caressing his cheek ever so gentle, not to wake him up, but the damage was done, I felt the heat creep up to my face, busted! He blinked his eyes a few times before opening them en looking up at me with confusion on his face.

He started talking "Nady, wh..." I silenced him by placing a finger on his lips, using his sleepiness to my advantage. The need to kiss him was so great that I had a hard time focusing, my heart was pounding and there was a distinct tingly feeling spreading throughout my belly. Giving into my desires I leaned forward and skimmed my lips over his, barely touching before I pulled back again, just far enough to see his response.

His eyes glazed over and he placed a warm hand on my cheek, then let it slide into my hair and pulled me to him. My lips touched his again, an electric current flowed through me, his mouth slowly moved against mine, slowly, gently perfectly. I sighed into his mouth, letting out the breath I had been holding subconsciously.

He flipped us over in one move, without breaking the kiss, moving himself on top of me supporting his weight on his elbows. My hands grabbed hold of his short hair and pulled him closer to me, deepening the kiss. Moving together is a slow rhythm, he caught my bottom lip between his, we broke apart far too soon for my liking.

But I was in desperate need of oxygen, so I let him pull away, he let his head fall onto my shoulder, leaving it there. After a moment I felt the corners of his lips move upwards into a smile on my arm.

"You know don't you?" his voice was slightly muffled, because he still had his lips on my shoulder.

"Yeah, I kinda do" I said stroking his hair.

He lifted his head to meet my eyes with his "how?"

"On a certain level, I think I've known for a while now, but when you told my father that I belonged with you, it just clicked"

"Yeah, I figured you'd noticed that" he chuckled. He placed a sweet short kiss on my lips and moved to my side laying back down and pulled me with him.

"Did you imprint on me when you met me?" I asked him.

"Yeah, remember, one moment I was joking about your name, the next my eyes were locked onto yours" he chuckled.

"You freaked me out with that, did you know that?" wondering if he had any idea how much he had pissed me off with that.

"I figured that, some creepy old guy staring at you, bound to freak you out right" I heard him smile

"Oh yes, cause you're definitely a creepy old guy!" he tickled me on my side with the arm that was around me, so I was locked in his grip. We laid like that for a while, talking, laughing and holding each other, before the circles he was drawing on my back lulled me to sleep.

~*~

In the morning I woke because the warmth I had cuddled into the entire night was suddenly missing, I opened my eyes to see Embry looking around like he was searching something.

"What are you looking for?" his head whipped around at the sound of my voice.

"Oh sorry sweetie, I didn't want to wake you" quickly crawling onto my bed "I was looking for some pen and paper, to leave you a note." He hovered over me and kissed me, the tingling was there immediately, even if the contact had lasted no longer that a second.

"A note? Are you going somewhere?"

"Work, even though I'm on the late shift this week, I still have to get up now, if I don't want to be late" smiling wickedly I pulled his lips to mine and kissed him passionately, he responded by snaking his arms to my back and up into my hair, fisting his hands into it. Feeling his hands run through it was so heavenly it gave me goose bumps, so when he stopped and pulled back I whimpered in protest.

He was chuckling at me "that's not very nice Nady, trying to make me late?"

"Can't you just take a day off?" pouting my face, he was never able to tell me no like that.

"That's not fair!" he whined, but then his face brightened "sure I could take a day off, you better tell Leah not to count on Tom, he'll working over hours to cover for me"

"You're the one who's calling me unfair, what do you call this?" he knew I had given in.

"I'll come by tonight, I promise" kissing me again, but before I could grab onto him, he had broken the kiss and was walking through the door "bye Nadira".

Reluctantly I replied "bye Embry"

Laying in bed thinking about last days events, so frightened of my father, just like being a little girl again, so unnecessary considering the fact that I was living in the middle of a shape shifting wolf pack. Now I was glad he had come, I needed closure, after yelling at him I felt so much better, like a weight had lifted from my shoulders, I felt free.

Then I though back to last night, my first kiss ever, surely it hadn't been his first but that didn't matter to me, it had been perfect. Then my stomach made a loud noise, indicating that it was time for me to get up, suddenly guilt flashed through me, Embry had been late, with his appetite he must be starving by now.

Quickly I got showered and dressed, I had decided to make something for Embry, Tom and Jake to drop off at the garage. I would be doing it for Embry of course, but they could have some too, I hoped Leah had stayed home another day so she might help me.

The wolf women had started a catering business, they were always cooking anyway, also it was easier because they could bring their kids with them, rotating watching them. So they all cooked so well, Leah's meals were delicious, I hoped to be able to cook like that one day.

When I found Leah sitting in the kitchen, happiness washed over me and I wrapped my arms around shoulders standing behind her.

"Good morning Leah, how are you feeling" she patted my arm.

"Great, couldn't be better, and how is our girl doing today" she asked with a snicker.

Sitting down at one of the table chairs "what do you mean by that?"

"Oh nothing, just wondering why Embry looked so happy and rested, after a night on your sofa, can't be comfortable for him on that small thing"

"Leah, you're having way too much fun with this! You know that he slept in my bed and we both slept great, thank you very much!"

"I'm sure you did, how about that happy part? Something specific to report there?" she was still smiling and my face flushed.

"Uhm, well yeah, we kinda kissed"

"Ah, did you now" she added on a slightly more serious tone "that's great baby, you deserve to be happy"

"Thanks. Hey Leah, could you help me with something?"

~*~

With an enormous amount of fried chicken in my arms I was walking towards the garage, the first one to spot me was Jake.

"Are those for me? That's real sweet of you" he made a grab for the food.

"Nuh uh! Hands off Jake!"

"Ok ok. Embry, your girlfriend is here!" he cocked an eyebrow and smiled at me.

"Leave her be Jake!" Embry was strolling out in and dirty overall, with the top half down, wearing a sleeveless shirt instead, he looked hot!

"What's this now?" he sniffed the food and wrapped his arm around me, placing a kiss in my neck, shivers ran down my spine, quickly I stepped away from him to put the platter down.

"Well, I figured you'd be hungry, since you didn't have time to eat this morning" Jake let out whooping yells, until Tom appeared.

"O yeah, Leah said to make sure you would share, at least with Tom, because she helped me"

"What, none for me?!" Jake huffed.

"Sure, you can have whatever's left" Tom grinned.

"Well boys, enjoy!" kissing Embry on the cheek I headed back home. The guys were laughing and I heard Jake say "Embry, you don't deserve that man, she's way too good for you!"

Nessie was waiting for me when I got home, chatting with Leah in the kitchen. The three of us spend the whole afternoon talking, everything had changed so much I realized, now that both Nessie and me had found out that we were officially wolf girls.

We had asked Jake and Embry to eat at our place, Nessie and me would do the cooking with Leah giving us pointers. I decided that I should be cooking a lot more from now on, so Leah would have more time to rest, she would be tired all the time, first because of her pregnancy and second because she had returned to a human state.

Now that they were my family I vowed to myself that I would be taking care of them as much as they were taking care of me. As soon as the baby would be born I would help out with him or her too, I loved kids so that would not even be hard at all.

Dinner turned out great, Nessie and I had prepared a wonderful meal and we had such a good time between the six of us. Jake left to take Nessie home and I walked Embry to the door, Tom and Leah had agreed to let him spend the night sometimes, but not on school nights.

We were kissing passionately on the front porch, when Tom interrupted us, telling us it was time for Embry to get home. Tomorrow I would go to school again, which I didn't mind at all, because I would be spending the day with the hilarious twin wolves.

~*~

Embry dropped me off at school, we were locking lips again of course, now that we were officially together we couldn't stop kissing. With Embry being the first person I kissed, I had no idea that I would enjoy as much as I did. Or maybe Embry was just a really good kisser, I would never know what the reason was, since there never would be anyone else, all I knew is that I loved it.

Taylan was pounding on the car window.

"Get a room you two! Come on Nadira, school's starting!"

"Chill boys, I'm coming already!"

"Have fun little one" he placed his lips on my cheek and I jumped out the truck.

"So, tell us Nady, are you two an item now?" Logan said on a mocking tone.

"Oh shut it!" I threw both of my arms around them, one arm on each of their shoulders and we walked over to the school entrance.

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**AN:** Please review!


	12. Vamps!

**Disclaimer: Twilight is all Stephanie Meyer, I own nothing.**

**AN: **About the chapter, I haven't introduced all the pack members and their imprints individually, that would take while and be boring. There's a list of wolves and their info on my profile page though, so if you see a name coming by you don't recognize, you can look them up there.

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Vamps!

~*~

POV: Nadira

~*~

Double hangouts, does that exist, well I suppose so, cause that's what we're doing, instead of double dating. The four of us spend a lot of time together at the beach, at my place, sometimes even we would even be at the Cullen house, but most of the time we could be found in the small house that Embry and Jake shared.

Right now for example we were watching some movie, but I wasn't paying attention at all, now don't assume, it's never a good thing doing that to u and me. Anyways I wasn't following the movie because all my mind could register was the sound of Jake and Nessie making out and them breathing heavily, seriously it does not sound attractive at all, can't they do that somewhere else.

On top if that, there was the issue of Embry on my other side, on one hand I wanted to kiss him so badly, but I didn't want to do that in front of anybody, not that the two lovebirds over here would notice but still. Besides, if I were to kiss him now, what message would that send? I didn't want to take our relationship to the lever Jake and Nessie were at, I mean I'm happy for them, but I certainly want that for us right now.

Just because there was an imprint in play, that didn't mean we had to jump each other right, he wouldn't expect that. Glancing stealthily up to take in his face, trying to decipher his thoughts, but they were probably on that stupid movie, it had to be stupid if I couldn't manage to watch it even if I so desperately wanted to.

So I sat there, trying to generate a sincere interest for the Romantic Comedy, but I just couldn't muster it, my brains were however registered every move Embry made, like right now his left arm was draped around me and was stroking my hair, occasionally pulling one of my curls to let them jump back. His right hand was in front of him, holding mine close to him, he was unaware of my mind being all over the place, or so I thought.

"Nadira, what are you doing?" he whispered in my ear. Ugh, it should be illegal to be able to put a girls heart into a frenzy, just by letting warm breath tickle their ears, but he did anyway and I almost forgot to answer.

"Hmm, nothing why?" I asked innocently, keeping my voice so low that I wouldn't disturb mick and mack, they were still all over each other.

"You can't seem to sit still, what's the matter?"

"Uhm, the movie is a bit boring" lying was never a good idea when it came to Embry, it just didn't work well.

"Wanna take a walk?" a walk, that was code for something right?! Great Nadira you're officially paranoid now.

"Yea sure" pushing my irrational thoughts aside.

We walked over to the beach, now that we were alone I was a lot more at ease, my arm hooked into his, my want to kiss him suddenly more present. Sure I liked kissing, kissing Embry was like being in heaven, never wanting to leave. He sat down beside a big log, he cradled me onto his lap, his warm soft body surrounding me, I nuzzled in his neck.

My lips gently touched his skin, I felt his heartbeat speed up, he put his hand under my chin and lifted my face, then his mouth was on mine. My hands were one his chest gliding upwards to his face, eventually finding their way around his neck. Our lips moved together as one, fitting onto each other perfectly, the hand that had been under my chin was now tracing my jawbone, the other one was firmly pressed onto my back.

My heart was strumming a fast beat, my breathing became labored as did his, he kissed a trail into my neck, finding that soft spot behind my ear, I shivered under the searing hot touch of his mouth on my skin. Grabbing onto his shoulders tighter, as if I was afraid he would get up and leave, I pressed myself closer to him.

When he nibbled gently on my earlobe as soft moan escaped me, the sound startled me and I stiffened in his arms. He pulled back and looked, raising an eyebrow in question.

"What's wrong? Did I do something?" he looked worried.

"No, it's nothing, I just…"

"Tell me Nady, please" he pleaded with me.

"Well, you know you're my first boyfriend and I've never kissed anyone before you?"

"I suspected as much" he was waiting for me to continue.

"The reason don't have any experience with boys is simple, I never trusted any of them. So now everything is progressing quite fast, maybe a bit too fast for me" he looked hurt, like I just told him we were over.

"I'm not in any rush, I can adjust myself to your pace" he said, but his voice was strained.

"Embry, it's not like that, I enjoy our time together, I love kissing you" that made his eyes lit up again. "It's just I went from the anti-boy girl, to having a boyfriend and being set for life" hoping that he understood what I was talking about it.

"You don't have to be, you know tied to me like that" speaking with difficulty "you can be free to see what or who's out there, I'll wait for you, so if some day you want to be with me, you can" tears were forming in his eyes.

"No, No! Embry, I didn't mean it like that, ugh, I'm bad at this, I never seem to get it right! I love you, I don't want anybody else, I just wanna slow down or not take it further physically"

"You what?" his eyes grew wide in shock.

"I want to wait"

"No, before that" he was smiling now. Huh, what was he talking about, what had I said that had him smiling like that? Did he misunderstand again, I replayed my words in my head, realizing what I had said.

"Oh" I said dryly .

"Well do you?" he demanded.

"Yes, I do love you" speaking so softly that he wouldn't have heard without his wolf hearing, looking down.

"That's all I need" he took my face in his hands "I love you too, as long as we're both clear on that, the rest doesn't matter to me" he pulled me to him and held me close.

~*~

Being a lot more comfortable in our relationship, I was able to enjoy our double hangouts much more, knowing that Embry understood how I felt, all the face sucking our doubles did, bothered me far less.

Finally having my driver's license, I was able to drive myself to school and back, which was convenient. Since five of the wolves had now retired to the position of elder, the other wolves had to pick up more patrolling, the schedule wasn't heavy, there hadn't been any real threat for years and new wolves kept joining the pack since the Cullen's were so close.

But once in a while I would ask Embry to take me on, mostly on Friday's cause that was when he usually had more free time. So, today he had taken me and made me late to class by keeping me in his car far too long. Running to my first class where I excused myself to the teacher, glad that he was letting it slide. I took my seat next to Taylan who made a face that said 'tsk, tsk, tsk' and I laughed at him silently while pinching his arm as hard as I could.

We were goofing around at our usual lunch table, when Taylan and Logan suddenly froze and turned their heads in the same direction.

"We have to go, now" Logan said, grabbing their bags.

"Wait a minute, what's going on?" I almost had to run to keep up.

"That was Jake, something is up" Logan sounded irritated.

"Something, what's that mean, are the other's in danger, what?!" what if Embry was in trouble, I felt live a huge claw squeezed my heart and I had a hard time breathing.

"Nadira, don't worry so much, everything will be fine. We don't know what's going on, that's why we have to go" Taylan said patiently, reassuring me.

"Will you come back later, I don't have a ride" feeling foolish for using a ride as an excuse, but I just wanted to see that they were ok.

"Sure, we'll be here on time" he hugged me and walked away following Logan, this time I didn't follow.

The rest of my classes passed by in a blur, worry kept gnawing at me, constantly checking my watch, when the bell rang to indicate the end of the school day, I ran outside scanning the parking lot for my friends. Finally I spotted Embry and relief washed through me, I hurried towards him, but stopped halfway seeing the pained look on his face and in combination with Taylan and Logan not being there, my heart fell. I nearly dropped to the ground right then and there, Embry sped towards me and grabbed my shoulders before I could go down.

"Taylan, Logan?" was all that came out.

"They're at your house, Leah is making dinner for everybody" Embry pulled me into a big hug.

"Is everybody ok?" no answer, that meant that somebody had gotten hurt.

"Who?" my heart pounding in my chest.

"Taylan" then I broke down, sobbing loudly into Embry's shirt.

"Sshh, baby" he rubbed my arm "he's hurt, but he will recover"

During the ride Embry explained that Jake and Seth had come upon a small group of vampires this morning, so Jake immediately called for the others. They had already located them when the others phased, so with the others there they engaged and destroyed them. But in the process Logan had gotten hurt, which distracted Taylan just long enough for his opponent to slam into him.

When got to my house I flew out of Embry's truck and into the house, frantically looking around trying to figure out where he would be. Then I ran to the kitchen, somebody would be there, someone to tell me where Taylan was. Opening my mouth to speak, but snapping it closed again when I saw Logan sitting there. He was pale as a ghost and there was a big gash running from his forehead, over his eyelids, onto his cheekbone.

"Logan!" I screamed and threw my arms around him, he started sobbing onto my shoulder and I held him tight, my hand soothingly stroking his back.

"How is he?" peering over Logan's shoulder to Leah, knowing I would get an honest answer.

"He's hurt badly, Carlisle is taking care of him now, he has a lot of broken bones, but what worries us most is the crack in his skull. The bones should heal, but we don't know how it works with brain damage" she looked like she had been crying.

Logan was no longer sobbing, but I felt hot tears dripping down, I looked at the rest of them they were standing outside talking seriously about something. He would be ok, he would be ok, he had to be ok, that was it I had to see him.

"Where is he?" Leah hesitated.

"Tell me, I want to see him!"

"He's up in the spare room, he's…"but I wasn't listening anymore, I was rushing up the stairs, where I saw Carlisle exit the room.

"He's not conscious, but you can sit with him if you like" I nodded in response. He walked towards the stairs and I carefully pushed the door open, the floor boards squeaked a little when walked in. The room was darker than the hallway and it took my eyes a while to adjust to the lack of light, then I saw his still form on the bed.

Dropping to my knees besides the bed, I grabbed his hand before looking him over, the right upper part of his body was bandaged. As far as I could see, there were some ribs, his right shoulder and arm, broken. Then I looked at his face, it bruised and swollen, a bandage was wrapped around his head to cover a spot high on the right side.

Tears were streaming down my face as I drew small circles on the back of his hand with my thumb. I sat there at his good side for what seemed like hours, finally being so exhausted that I let my head lean on his arm, feeling myself slipping away.

"Nady" croaked a voice, my head shot up.

"Taylan?!" fresh tears were streaming down my face "you're finally awake, I was so worried" I cried into his chest.

"I'm ok, I promise, sshh, don't cry" he was gently stroking my hair. The door burst open, of course they had heard that he was awake, Logan came in first a goofy grin on his face.

"Man, you shouldn't scare her like that!" hiding the fear that he had experienced until moments ago.

With Taylan still recovering he couldn't attend school, but Logan's wound had already healed completely over the weekend, so we had to go. Taylan stayed at our house, some sort story was fed to his parents, since they had no idea their sons were werewolves. We knew he would be perfectly fine so we were talking and laughing, when Logan's jaw dropped.

"Logan?" following his gaze to a blonde girl who stood a few tables over, looking right back at him.

"I have to go" he stood up leaving me there alone.

"My sister has that effect on a lot of guys, don't worry" when I looked up to the girl that had spoken, it was like looking into a mirror, the resemblance was uncanny "can I sit down here, I'm Fathiya by the way"

"Sure, sit down, I'm Nadira, you're name is Arabian too right?" she nodded.

"So that's your sister?" they didn't look anything alike.

"Well I'm adopted, if you're wondering about the difference in appearance. We just moved here when our mother remarried""

Just then Logan was walking back to our table with the blonde on his arm, with a smile so huge on his face, I thought it would break, judging by the way they were looking at each other he had imprinted on her.

"That isn't your boyfriend is it?" Fathiya whispered in my ear.

"No, he, his brother and me are just friends. His brother is laying in bed with the flu, you'll meet him soon enough" I said laughing.

"Nadira, I would like you to meet Romy" he said proudly.

"Well Logan, you two seem to be getting along great!" I chuckled "this is Romy's sister Fathiya" I said to him.

The rest of the day went by with Logan whining that Romy wasn't in any of his classes, she was a senior, while we were juniors, Fathiya on the other hand was in some of our classes. I was waiting in the parking lot Logan to say goodbye to Romy, which took far too long, I wanted to get home see how Taylan was doing.

"She's coming to our birthday party Saturday" he exclaimed, he kept talking about her the whole drive home. Glad when we finally got here, I went inside quickly and found Taylan and Leah at the kitchen table, it was so good to see him out of bed again.

"Hey, someone's feeling better!" kissing him and Leah lightly on the cheek.

"Yeah, I'm still sore, but I went crazy laying in bed all day" he frowned when an extremely happy Logan walked in.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot, Logan imprinted" I said sourly.

"Why are you looking like that, is there something the matter with his imprint" Leah asked.

"Oh no, Romy is fine, seems like a nice girl. It's mister annoying over there who's bothering me" I said pointing at Logan.

The rest of the afternoon we spend in the kitchen, we filled in Taylan on the new additions to our high school, while I prepared dinner. Embry would be getting here soon and I was looking forward to seeing him.

~*~

Taylan made a full recovery by Friday afternoon, I had my suspicions about the convenient timing, too late to go to school, but just in time for the party, hmm.

Saturday Nessie and me spend dressing up and getting ready for the party, which would be held at their house. Their parents wouldn't be home, so it would be the perfect teenage party, if it weren't for all the wolves that were in attendance. Logan was pacing in the kitchen when we came in, glancing out to the driveway every five seconds.

"Yeez Logan, relax" Taylan huffed at him "it's not natural the way he's acting, imprint or not I'll never be that pathetic!" Nessie and me laughed loudly at that statement.

"We'll see about that!" we said in unison, knowing perfectly well what imprinting did to a wolf.

"Finally!" we all looked at Logan who shot to the front door.

"Well, I'm curious to see what's so special about this girl" Taylan said following his brother to the door.

When we heard a gasping sound, Nessie and me went to see what was going on.

* * *

**AN:** Hope you liked it!


	13. Confused

**Disclaimer: Twilight is all Stephanie Meyer, I own nothing.**

**AN: **Thanks for the reviews guys, you're the best! I love it when you tell me what you think, it feels so good to see that you're enjoying this story ;)

* * *

Confused!

~*~

POV: Embry

~*~

Jake and I arrived at the party to find two wolves in a chaotic shouting back and forth, in combination with three humans and a human-vampire hybrid from which two were howling with laughter and two with an extremely puzzled look on their face.

This was Jake's mess, I was not getting involved, walking straight over to Nadira, pulling her close to me. The girl next to her whispered ecstatic in Nadira's ear, assuming that I couldn't hear her, "wow, is that your boyfriend?!" Nadira nodded and gave her a smile.

"Wow, chill out!" Jake interrupted Logan and Taylan "what's going on?" their conversation dropped to a below human hearing level.

"Just this week I imprinted and now he's gotta imprint on her sister!" Logan complained.

"Excuse me, am I supposed to find a problem in there somewhere?" Jake sounded irritated.

"He just can't handle it that he's not the only one of us with an imprint!" Taylan huffed.

"Seriously have you lost it?! Be glad you found your imprint so early on, look at Seth, Kyle and Nathan, they've been a wolf for about 7 years and still haven't found their imprints! Would you want that for your brother Logan?"

"Well no, of course not, but he could have waited a while" but his anger was gone, now his voice had a mocking tone when he continued "he's always gotta have what I have, guess he can't help it!"

"Quit being so childish, you have some explaining to do to your ladies!" Jake hit them both on the back of their heads lightly and pushed them towards the still confused looking girls. Logan towards the blonde one and Taylan towards the girl that stood next to Nadira, my god how they looked alike! Now that I was looking at the two of them the similarity was so clear, Nadira had told me, but I didn't realize how true it was until now.

"Nadira, that girl looks a lot like you and I mean a lot" I whispered in her ear.

"Yeah I know, it's freaky right!" Nadira said completely weirded out. I was curious to find it exactly how it was that they looked a hell of a lot more like family than that girl and her sister.

Well it would have to wait for another time, Jake and I couldn't stay, we were patrolling with Quill so that the younger ones could attend the party. We were patrolling more frequently and with three wolves on duty each night, the sudden intrusion of the young vampires had us on full alert.

"Hey Nady, I can't stay, I'm in duty tonight" I could read the disappointment on her face.

"That's ok, will you come over as soon as your done?"

"If you want, but I won't be back until 5 a.m. or so"

"No problem, I'll probably be home late too, so we can sleep in tomorrow" her eyes looked up at me, as if she had to sell the idea to me. Silly girl, I would spend every free minute that I had with her, if she'd let me.

"Sounds like a plan, see you later then" I leaned in to kiss her quickly, but wasn't prepared for the passion she threw in it. Her kiss was a desperate one, parting my lips with her tong almost instantly the moment our lips met, yanking me closer to her. Pushing her little form to the wall behind her, grabbing her hips, returning the kiss as passionate as I could.

She grabbed onto my neck and lifted her legs to place them tightly around my waist, my hands lowered onto her butt, holding her securely to me. One of her hands fisted in my hair and the other was clawing at my back, a low growl escaped me, wasn't she the one that wanted to slow things down?

Parting from her to look her in the eyes, to question her aggressiveness, not that I was complaining but I was wondering to what her motivation could be.

"Where did that come from?" scrunching my eyebrows at her.

"You didn't like it?" her eyes shot to her feet.

"Of course I liked it, but you were the one that wanted to take things slow, remember?"

"Yeah, well we were just kissing weren't we, you're obviously overreacting!" she snapped at me. Wow, I hadn't seen that part of her for a long time, that was not just kissing and she knew that as well as I did.

"You lovebirds done?" Jake called behind me.

"We'll talk about it later" I said while motioning to peck her on the lips, but she dodged me.

"No, we won't!" she turned and walked away leaving me standing there gawking at her.

"Come on Em, we gotta go, the others are waiting for us to relieve them" Jake pulled me outside.

What was that, I honestly had no idea where that came from, previously when she was upset I always knew what the issue was, besides she had never been mad at me directly, mostly I was just there to suffer her anger, because I let her take it out on me.

We entered the woods and phased, heading over to where Collin and Brady were, to take over patrolling after they had reported about the previous six hours, so we could run the borders for the next six hours. Pushing my thoughts about Nadira and her sudden outburst from tonight, into a closed box in my mind, we had learned how to put thoughts away to keep them from the pack mind.

After Quil had arrived, we made the exchange in shifts, today had been quiet, but we were all waiting for something to happen as we somehow knew it was coming. We still didn't understand every conclusion we had drawn from the last attack, I was worried about it, non vegetarian vampires were always a cause for concern, but it was worse since Nadira was added to the equation.

"_We will figure it out, besides Nadira seems to be in wolfy company 24 hour a day" _Quil joked.

"_I know that, but I can't help it. It just doesn't add up" _

"_Yeah I know, it was almost as if they were informed of what and where we were. Usually those leeches are shocked to find out that the legendary wolf shifters are real" _Jake stated.

"_And then the fact that they were newborns but old enough to strategize, as if knowing that an older one wouldn't stand a chance" _I finished his train of thought.

"_I have a theory, but even if I'm right, there's still a big part missing " _Jake seemed reluctant to share his thoughts.

"_Well we can't figure it out at all, so yours is the only idea we have_" Quil urged him to let us in on his thoughts.

"_What if they were sent as scouts or something, by someone who knows what we are, therefore sending newborns, so that they would have a bigger chance in completing their mission"_

"_That makes some sense at least, but who could be sending them? Nobody knows about us" _scanning my mind to see if there could be anyone that we had overlooked.

"_See what I mean with a big part missing, but if I'm right, there will be more soon, since the last bunch obviously failed" _Jake had still left a significant fact out.

"_When they do, they will be with greater numbers" _Quil sounded out what Jake did not, our greatest fear.

"_Hopefully the newcomers will have phased before then" _Jake tried to hide his concern, but we could her it in his voice

"_How many are showing signs of changing?" _I was willing to assist in his attempt to change the subject.

"_Right now there are three, Aaron, Daniël and…" _he paused.

"_And who?" _Quil questioned

"_Mituna" _

"_A girl? There hasn't been a female wolf since Leah" _we had all assumed that she was the exception, that somewhere something got mixed up and gone wrong. Some of us had sisters but none of them had changed besides Leah, most of them weren't even in on our secret, except for Rachel because Paul had imprinted on her.

"_Exactly" _sighed in relief that my thoughts where along the same lines as his own_ "we all did think that her transformation had been an accident of some sort, right?"_

"_I don't like to admit it, but yeah, that's what I've always thought, especially since no other girl has phased since then" _Quill answered.

The night remained quiet, 5 a.m. we reported to Seth and Caleb and phased back before emerging from the tree line, Jake was heading to the Cullen house, wanting to see Nessie of course but we also figured it wouldn't hurt to ask Alice to look for approaching leeches. Quil went back to the apartment he shared with Seth.

For a moment I pondered about where I should go, the confrontation I had wit Nadira returning to the surface, but I headed towards Nadira, leaving her the option of sending me away if she didn't want me there. Denying to myself that the thought of her sending me away would be painful, but as I looked up to her window, I was extremely relieved to see that she had left it open.

Climbing into her room as silent as I could not to wave her, but she was thrashing and whimpering live she was in pain, she was having a nightmare.

"No, no, Embry don't leave me!" would she actually be scared of me leaving her?

"Nady, baby, I'm here, I'm not ever leaving you, got that" pushing a few strands of her away from her face, her eyes fluttered open.

"Embry you're here, I was afraid you wouldn't come over" she said looking apologetically at me.

"Nothing, but your explicit demand to do so, could keep me away from you" I crawled into bed with her, she immediately snuggled into my chest wrapping her small arm around me. She relaxed instantly in my arms, mumbling about being happy that I was ok before she fell asleep, so after I was sure she had, I let myself drift off.

~*~

Around 9 a.m. an unfamiliar sound woke me, I listened trying to figure out what is was, it sounded like someone was throwing up, must be Leah suffering from morning sickness. Tom was with her, soothing her, no doubt holding up her hair, the last time he phased was on the day Nadira's father had paid us a visit.

His hopes and wishes to be a father, but more to give Leah what she wanted so bad, kept seeping through his concern and anger for the situation at hand. Everyday Tom talked about it in the garage, they were so happy to become a family, ecstatic about the pregnancy. Don't get me wrong, they were thrilled to have Nadira, but having a baby was different.

Nadira understood that as well and wasn't threatened by the expected baby at all, she was actually looking forward to it and doing everything she could to help Leah around the house. Her face was so innocent as she slept, so free of every burden, awake she was always worried about something.

Sometimes it felt like she was setting herself up for failure, placing obstacles on her path to make life more difficult for herself. She was doing so good, she was happy, but the abused girl would always be a part of her, the mental scars her violent and terrorized childhood given her, would always remain.

When she woke she kissed me warmly, timidly, nothing of the desperateness I felt last night was there, she was back to the Nady she had been for a while. It bothered me that she didn't say anything about it, she had never answered my question and I was afraid to ask and cause another anger session.

Letting it go for now, but sincerely hoping that she would tell me on her own accord one day, something had caused her sexual attack and I hated not knowing what is was. When we sat down in the kitchen Leah and Tom were not there, usually they woke up long before us and I listened to hear where they were, but couldn't hear them in the house.

That's when I spotted the note on the fridge, I grabbed it and read it before passing it to Nadira so she could read it.

_Dear Nadira,_

_Leah wasn't feeling well so I took her to see Carlisle._

_We'll probably be back soon, so don't worry._

_Enjoy your day with Embry!_

_Love,_

_Tom_

"Enjoy your day?! How can I enjoy my day if I know there's something wrong with Leah?!" she fumed.

"It said she wasn't feeling well, it's probably morning sickness or something" trying to reassure her, but it backfired completely.

"Do I look stupid to you! Don't you think I know that they wouldn't have gone to see Carlisle over morning sickness!" there was the old Nadira again, quick say something, fix it!

"Everything will be fine, don't worry so much, little one" trying to keep it light.

"Little one! I'm not some little kid that you can promise things to, especially if you have no idea what is going on and if it will be alright!" she stormed out of the kitchen and up the stairs with me at her heels.

"Nady, what's the matter with you? This is not like you" I was getting a bit desperate.

"It's not? Well it seems you don't know me a well as you think you do!" I was baffled and completely lost, what the hell was going on here!

She took a shower and got dressed, all the while ignoring me, since I had nothing with me but my cut offs I was already done, watching her coming out of her bathroom in nothing but a towel I swallowed hard. She walked straight into her closet without even giving me a glance, when she emerged fully clothed, she strode out of her room and down the stairs.

Not understanding why she was so mad at me that she had to ignore me all together, I followed her to the driveway were she got in her car, finally she rolled her window down to speak to me, but as soon as the words passed her lips I felt myself getting angry.

"I'm going over to the Cullen's to see Leah. And stop following around like the little dog that you are!" she said viciously and with that she drove off. That was it, imprint or not, she had gone too far, treating me like I was a… but I couldn't think of anything fitting.

Quickly running home to get my phone to call Jake, sure that he was still with Nessie, I dialed the number and waited for him to pick up.

"Hey Em, what's up?"

"Hey Jake. Nadira is on her way over to see Leah, will you keep an eye on her?"

"Why aren't you with her if you're so worried" he sounded curious, not agitated.

"Uhm, we kinda had a fight" I didn't want to admit it, but an explanation was necessary.

"A fight, about what?"

"Well that's just it, I have no idea, she's been acting weird since last night. Then when she left she said some stuff, it made me so angry" somehow I hoped that Jake would have the answer.

"Hmm, that does not sound good, whenever Nessie is mad at me and I don't know why it most often is something she is afraid of, however irrational the cause, if that's the case you better keep your temper in check"

"Great, that's a real big help Jake, so what do I do now?"

"Just keep prodding, trying to get her to open up, it might take while longer that it does with Nessie though, since Nady is a bit more closed up. Why don't you come over, maybe it will be better after she has spoken with Leah and Ness"

"Sure ok. Oh and Jake, how's Leah doing?" of course I was worried about why they had gone to see Carlisle.

Jake chuckled "she's good, you'll see, just get here"

"Right, see ya in a bit" well that was weird, I sighed deeply before walking to the cover of the trees to phase.

Arriving at the Cullen's I could see Nadira's car parked behind Leah and Tom's, I phased back and put on my cut off sweats, Edward was opening the door before could knock.

"Hello Embry, come in" he extended his hand for me to shake.

"Thanks Edward" I said while shaking his hand.

When we entered the living room, I quickly scanned the room to see if Nadira was here, if she was I'm sure she would be royally pissed, Edward chuckled at my thoughts.

"It's not that bad, you'll be fine" he said smiling. For a moment I had forgotten he reads minds, he could tell me what was bothering or according to Jake scaring her.

"Nope, not gonna do that, it's bad enough to invade everybody's privacy, but that would be an abuse of trust" he was right, that wouldn't be fair.

Leah and Tom were just walking into the living room, with Nadira and Nessie behind them, Jake was the last to enter, I pulled up my eyebrows, silently asking him if he had found out anything, he shrugged his shoulders in reply, indicating that he didn't have a clue.

My eyes wandered back to Nadira smiling, she clearly wasn't mad at the others, so it was just me, Edward was walking over to Tom and Leah, shaking Tom's hand and hugging Leah, what was that about.

"Hey Leah, how are you doing?" I asked, damn she looked like hell! Black circles under her eyes and hollowed out cheeks, live she hadn't eaten in days.

"I'm good, thanks Embry"

"Good, are you sure, you don't look so good" shit that came out wrong.

"Hey, that's no way to talk to a lady!" she laughed.

"Uh…"I started.

"Don't worry, it's ok, bye Embry" and with that she walked out the door.

"Oh Embry, I'm so sorry!" Nadira was running towards me, I was so shocked that I was almost too late to catch her.

"Huh?" it was out before I could think about it.

"What I said was so mean, I didn't mean it, honest. I was just so worried about Leah and I took it out on you, I shouldn't have, I'm truly sorry!" she was placing small kisses on my jaw and neck.

"Ok" talking was particularly difficult right now and her kisses weren't helping much.

"Leah was really sick and had belly pains, that's way they came to see Carlisle. It turns out she is having such a hard time because she is having twins. She'll probably feel better soon too, since she will be entering the second trimester next week"

"That's good" I still wasn't able to make full sentences, waiting for more of an explanation for what was going on, she wasn't just worried about Leah this morning, she had been way too intense for that.

"We wanted to go shopping, to get something for Leah, wanna come?" she was still rambling.

"Yeah sure" that was that she seemed to think, completely oblivious that I wasn't at all satisfied with what she told me, she was babbling with Nessie again. It made wonder if I ever would find out what was going on.

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**AN:** Let me know what you think!


	14. Alice sees!

**Disclaimer: Twilight is all Stephanie Meyer, I own nothing.**

**AN:** Every morning when I check fanfiction, my day turns into a bright one, despite the fact that it's raining here most of the time, just by reading your reviews! Thank you so much!!!

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Alice sees!

~*~

POV: Nadira

~*~

School was really different, now that Logan and Taylan had imprinted, they spent as much time together as they could, which was harder for Logan with Romy being a senior. I must admit that I do miss hanging out with Taylan, luckily Fathiya and I get along great, so I still see him often, we all sat together at lunch too.

The three new wolves phased last week were allowed back to school today, so they joined us at our lunch table, were they didn't have to be so careful what they said. Unfair as it sounded to me, both Romy and Fathiya were already completely up to date and new everything about the wolves and even imprinting.

When I asked Embry about it, he said the problem with us was the age difference and the fact that I had been through so much already, that they were reluctant to add to it. Imprinting was kept even longer so I wouldn't feel pushed onto Embry who was already waiting for me, so that ant guilt I felt wouldn't influence my decision.

Yeah, because what he did was so much better, waiting for me to find out on my own, wasn't hard for me at all, right. Embry and me were having problems, ever since the week of the birthday party, well actually I was treating him terrible, pulling him close, pushing him away. He doesn't understand, it's not his fault, it's mine of course, no this isn't some guilt trip it really is my fault.

"Nadira, hello! Are you in there?" Fathiya's hand was waving in front of me.

"Hmm, oh sorry" I had spaced off, while she was talking to me.

"That's ok, you seem, how do I say this, conflicted, are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, don't worry about it"

"Now, Nadira, how do you expect us to be friends if you won't talk to me" she said in a disapproving manner.

"Just thinking about Embry" it wasn't a lie.

"You should be looking a lot happier while thinking about your boyfriend" she disagreed.

"We haven't been doing so great lately"

"I don't understand, you're his imprint right, he would want to make you happy right"

"It's not him that's causing problems, it's me, he doesn't know what I want"

"Well, why don't you tell him then?" Fathiya was clearly wondering what my problem was.

"It's not that easy. Ok, the first few weeks we were together things were really great, until I was making myself uncomfortable with worrying about moving too fast, so I asked him to slow down" he really was trying to accommodate me. "But after a while I did want to move forward a little…" I was cut off by Taylan.

"Ow, gross Nady, I don't want to hear that!" my mouth snapped closed.

"Now, you listen to me, keep talking like this and we'll never move forward!" her hand moving between the two of them. "If you don't want to hear it, I suggest you go somewhere else, cause she's gonna talk about it and I'm gonna listen!" wow, look at her go.

"Never mind, I'll stay" he muttered.

"Were were we, oh right, moving forward" she gestured me to continue.

"A little yes, but he being the perfect gentleman that he is, pulls away when things get a little heated, the only thing we have done so far is kiss!" before Fathiya could answer.

"What, are you kidding me, the guy is 24 and all you do is kiss?!" Taylan interrupted again.

"You're not getting it doofus! It's about her not him, she's only 17 remember! Will you stop intruding on our conversation!" she was so not the timid girl I had her pegged for.

"So, if you find it difficult to tell him, why don't you initiate it"

"That's just it, I did, at the birthday party, I practically jumped him, but he questioned my motives. What was I supposed to tell him, yeah sweetie I'm so afraid of losing you, I wanna be close to you"

"Are you afraid of losing him?"

"Yeah, I didn't initially, but after seeing Taylan get hurt, I realized it could happen to Embry too" that's where I lost her, her attention was now fully on Taylan.

"Getting hurt, what does she mean by that?!" a mixture of concern and anger was in her voice.

"it was nothing really, there were some leeches…" he was explaining her what had happened.

My mind wondered again, never would I be able to tell him I wanted more, I would be so ashamed, old values placed in my head by that stupid chauvinistic Arab I had for a father, were still there. I didn't even want to admit it to myself, but that was part of the reason I wanted to wait for my wedding night, while the other part of me absolutely didn't, which made me ashamed of myself all over again.

The bell rang and we got up to get to class, Fathiya grabbed me quickly and pulled me aside.

"Sorry for that, but I just wanted to say, don't jump him next time, be subtle!" then she ran off to her next class.

Would that work? Well it was worth a shot.

~*~

When I came home from after school Leah was in the kitchen, making dinner.

"Leah, I'm supposed to do that!"

"Nadira, you have to stop this, I'm perfectly capable of cooking, Emily won't let me work and I have to do something!" I stood next to her and let my head lean against her shoulder, we have gotten so close, she feels like a mother to me.

"You're not sick or tired or anything?" wanting to make sure she was ok.

"I'm fine sweetie, stop worrying" she threw an arm around me and I gently put my hand on her growing bump. Her morning sickness had disappeared, like Carlisle predicted, which resulted in her looking healthy again and although she wasn't even 4 months along, she was really starting to show, with two babies growing in there her belly would get big a lot faster than with one.

We spent the afternoon together in the kitchen, chatting and cooking, when Tom came home we had a lovely dinner together. I was closer with Leah than with Tom, but I always felt safe and at ease around him, that was quite a lot for me. After dinner I went to my room, since it was Friday, Embry probably would come over tonight, he usually did on Friday.

My phone rang, so I started going through my bag, as usual I couldn't find it. Follow the sound, follow the sound, yes there it was!

"Hello?" no time to check caller ID.

"Nadira, where are you?!" Embry's voice sounded urgently through the speaker.

"I'm home, why?" he sighed in relief.

"Stay there, I'll be there in a minute" then he hung up, he had me worried now, so I hurried down the stairs to wait by the front door, I was pacing the hallway back and forth for ten minutes when I heard a car pulling up the driveway.

So I opened the door and walked outside, well that was obviously a mistake. Instead of the reassuring hug I was expecting, it resulted in him calling me irresponsible and questioning me about for whom I would open the door. That I might as well stand outside with a sign pointing towards me inviting bad guys to take me away.

"What?" my jaw dropped, to baffled to get angry.

"Just get inside" not that I had a choice or anything, he had flung me over his shoulder and was carrying me inside. He walked straight to the kitchen, knowing that Leah and Tom would be there, that's where he finally allowed me to stand on my own two feet.

"Now explain yourself!" I was glaring at him angrily.

"Sorry, Nady, I didn't mean to scare you"

"You didn't scare me, you were talking nonsense!"

"You're right, I should tell you, that's why I came over"

Apparently he had come straight from the Cullen's, where the pack just had a meeting, because Alice had a vision about the vampires that were coming. Motivation was still unclear, although the vampire initiating the attack seemed somewhat familiar, the decision had been made, so she could see them coming, although she couldn't see when they would be here.

What was the greatest cause for concern, was that they knew about the existence of the pack but not about the Cullen family, for the first time an attack was coming not due to one of their family, but one of ours.

They would be training with the Cullen's, the young wolves had were too inexperienced to deal with a full blown leech attack, let alone one with a substantial amount of newborns. Also the Cullen's would call on other vampire's for assistance, Jacob and the pack were a priority for them especially with Jacob being Nessie's mate.

The vampires that came didn't only come with the goal to exterminate all the wolves, but they were also looking for something, Alice couldn't see what it was, but she would keep looking. Tonight the first training session would take place, my stomach clenched with fear, I realized now that I would have to tell him somehow.

"Can I come?" everybody turned to me.

"I don't know Nady" Embry bit his lip in doubt.

"Nessie will be there right?" I knew she would not let Jacob and her family go without her being there.

"Yeah, but that's different" he had a point of course.

"Please let me come" practically begging now "that way I can see for myself that you can take care of yourself and worry so much on the day of the fight"

"Nady, you don't have to be worried about me, you know that right?" that's when I couldn't hold my tears anymore.

"Nadira, what's wrong sweetie?" he asked while putting his arms around me, but I just kept crying.

"Maybe you should take her upstairs" Leah told him. He gathered me in his arms and held me close, he walked up the stairs up to my room, where he put me down on the bed.

"Are you really so worried something will happen to me?" I nodded.

"Listen to me, I've been a wolf for almost 7 years and I've always managed to keep myself from getting hurt"

"When I found out that you shifted into a wolf I was ok, one of the reasons was learning that you had superhuman strength. For me that translated into you being indestructible, that nothing could ever harm you. But then I saw Taylan banged up so bad that we were afraid of losing him all together. That's when I realized that something could happen to you as well, you could even get killed" everything that had been pent up inside me for almost a month.

"That's what has been going on, that's why you've been acting so strange" the link was formed almost visibly " Nady I've been in a battle like this before, I will be fine, trust me on this, you really do not have to worry"

"You have?" nobody had told me that there had been a fight like that.

"Yes, an army of newborns were coming to kill Bella when she was still human, but we trained as we will this time, and defeated them without any casualties on our side" he had managed to subdue my heart crushing fear to a fairly normal amount of concern. Still I had a nagging feeling that something would go wrong, but I pushed it away.

"Well if you will promise me that you will not take any unnecessary risks, I will be ok I guess"

"Of course I wouldn't do that, I have a good reason for wanting to survive you know" he looked into my eyes and kissed me softly.

Even though it was a gentle kiss, the sensation of it overpowered me, he poured so much love into it that I felt my insides turn to mush. I pushed myself up to my knees to reach him better and pushed myself to him, I expected that my desire for him would simmer down now that my issues were pretty much resolved, but instead it only seemed stronger now.

My hands grabbed his short hair as tightly as I could to deepen the kiss, my tongue ran over his bottom lip to ask permission for entering his mouth. His lips parted to my request his hands snaked around my back to pull me even closer, his hands continued upwards and fisted into my hair.

Feeling his hands in my hair, pulling it slightly, send shivers down my spine and made me bit down on his lip. A groan escaped him, it felt good to be able to do that to him, his lips moved down to my neck, nibbling and sucking his way to the sensitive skin behind my ear where he placed wet kisses before catching my earlobe between his teeth.

"Hmmm" the sound didn't startle me this time, but it brought him out of his daze and he started pulling away as usual.

This time I wouldn't let him, just when his lips lost contact I placed my hands on his face and pulled him to my mouth, moving so that I was straddling him. He got the message and didn't pull away this time, but sucked in my bottom lip and released it, I gasped into his mouth. He was playing with my lips and tongue in a way I didn't know could bring so much pleasure and I let my hands slide down his chest to start pulling the hem of his shirt.

He released me to lift his arms up so that I could lift his shirt off him, I threw it on the floor without looking, before letting my hands roam the strong muscles under his warm smooth skin. He let me explore and leaned backward onto the headboard of my bed, he closed his eyes enjoying the feel of my hands on his skin.

Wanting to feel my skin against his I removed my hands from his chest to lift take off my own shirt, his eyes opened when my touch had suddenly gone missing, his eyes widened when he saw me in just my bra, but he didn't move. I leaned back and gasped at the electricity that ran over the parts of skin that were touching his.

My mouth attacked his neck trailing openmouthed kisses down to his collarbone, his hands were on my bare back sliding up and down while his lips moved over my shoulder. The knots in my stomach were tying tighter and tighter, searching for release. Straddling him, with my body pressed so tightly to his, I could feel the arousal growing in his pants. Following my body's needs, I rubbed myself to his hardness, sparks shot al through my body. I shifted to repeat the movement but that's when Embry lifted me off him and placed me on the bed while getting up.

"Wow, Nadira" he breathed. My head fell in shame when I realized what I had done, he had done nothing wrong, but I had acted like some hormonally crazed teenager, ok honestly that's kinda what I was, but still.

Obviously he didn't want me like that and I had pushed myself on him even though he had never encouraged me in any way.

"I'm sorry" I muttered barely audible.

"No no, please don't feel bad!" he rushed back to me, lifting my head, but I refused to look at him.

"Clearly you don't want me in that way"

"Please look at me" he pleaded, reluctantly my eyes met his.

He opened his mouth to speak, but closed it again, eventually he said "I wanna get this right, so I don't hurt you again, please hear me out" he waited for me to acknowledge, when I nodded he continued.

"First of all, of course I want you like that, you're beautiful and you're the sexiest creature I've ever seen, so don't let a weird idea like me not wanting you, ever get into that pretty little head of yours. Secondly, I would really like to know where the sudden urge to move so fast came from, simply because I'm worried that you might regret it later. Third and last, if I didn't stop you there it was a real possibility that I wouldn't be able to let you take the lead and push you to do something you aren't ready for" when he was done he waited for me to say something.

"Well, uhm, first I would like to say that I'm really glad you feel that way, because I feel the same way. Second, since I'm no longer as scared of you getting hurt as I was before you explained about your experience in fighting vampires, I don't think I have my motives for wanting to move things along a bit are of the wrong kind, I just have a need to be close to you. Last, I don't mind if you take control, if you're moving too fast I'll stop you, actually it might be nice since I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing" I looked at him to see if he was satisfied with my answer.

"Are you absolutely, one hundred percent sure?" he asked me.

"Will you take a ninety five?" I laughed at him.

"Yeah that'll do" he chuckled.

"Great, now, would you mind handing me my shirt?"

"Why would I do that, I'm kinda enjoying the view" he said eying me up and down, which made me feel very self conscious.

"Because I feel a bit weird sitting here like this"

"Ok ok, here you go" he handed me the shirt that had somehow ended up on the other side of my room.

"So, what time does the training start?" I cocked an eyebrow in question.

"Do you still want to go? I thought you were no longer worried?"

"I said I'm no longer frightened, of course I'm still worried, that won't change until I have you safely back in my arms afterwards. Being there will ease my worries a little bit, so I think it's only logical that you take me with you"

"Uhm well ok then. We should leave then, because I won't be able to run as fast while carrying you"

"Will I slow you down?" I asked surprised, I really wasn't that heavy. He laughed loudly at my question, when he composed himself he finally answered me.

"No not like that, but if I would run at full speed, I would risk injuring you, what if you were unable to hold on, I don't have a wolf seat you know!" he grabbed his shirt, but instead of putting it on he threw it on the bed and took of his socks and shoes as well.

"You're gonna go in wolf form?"

"Of course I will, you're finally gonna have a wolf riding experience" he really was enjoying the idea of me on his back while he was a wolf, it was clearly visible in his twinkling eyes.

Once we were outside, he phased behind some trees and came back with his sweats tied to his hind leg. He laid down flat on his belly so I was able to climb on, once I had grabbed onto his thick fur he rose to his full height, my legs slid to his side to make sure I was secure on his back.

Then he moved, first he walked, but he picked up the pace and within seconds he was running so fast that I couldn't see the trees anymore. Wind blew my hair back and I lowered myself pressing myself into his warm grey fur, so that I was lying rather than sitting. It felt great, strangely liberating, so enjoyed every minute of it and decided that we would be doing this again very soon.

He slowed down to a trot and we came into a huge clearing in the middle of the woods, he walked over to Nessie and plopped onto the ground next to her, I slid of his back and sat down next to her. Glancing around I concluded that most wolves were already here the Cullen's were all accounted for, then I noticed Alice looking strangely at me, Edward was next to her in a flash, looking at me in the same manner she was.

Embry noticed it too and was growling at them, Edward and Alice were now talking with the rest of their family, which resulted in them all staring at me intently. This was starting to freak me out, I slid closer to Embry grabbing onto him, trying to submerge myself in his thick coat. When they came towards us, Jacob came forward, tilting his head to the side as if asking a question and sat down between me and Nessie.

"Alice now knows why she recognized the unidentified vampire" Edward said.

"I'll get to that if you would let me finish, replying to a question Jacob had asked in his mind"

"The vampire looked familiar to Alice, but she couldn't place him, now that she has seen Nadira again, she is positive that she knows who it is and after seeing what she saw I have to agree. By the similarity in appearance we can draw no other conclusion than identifying the vampire in question as Nadira's father"

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**AN:** Hope you liked it!


	15. Made up nonsense

**Disclaimer: Twilight is all Stephanie Meyer, I own nothing.**

**AN: **Sorry for the late update, this chapter took forever to write, due to the inability to decide if I should write a fairly unknown myth into the story. Also, my schedule has become a bit busier recently, adding to my regular Wednesday dance classes, I'll be teaching on Monday as well. So unfortunately from now on I won't be able to update as much, I'll try to give you three chapters a week. For now enjoy!!!

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Made up nonsense

~*~

POV: Nadira

~*~

What did he just say?! I stared at him in shock, surely they must be mistaken, there would be no way in hell that my father would break his word.

"He would, if his motivation was strong enough" Edward was answering my thoughts, besides me Embry whimpered.

Motivation, what motivation, my father had always made it very clear that he perceived me to be a mere woman and to his opinion therefore worthless. The fact that he had actually taken the effort to come to LaPush was mystifying enough, but according to Alice's vision he would try again.

"Nadira we could double check if you want, what is your father's name?"

"Hassan Yazdin, that's his name"

"Could you think of him so I can compare him to the image Alice has?" so I did and Edward confirmed that it was in fact my father. But then it dawned on me, they had been talking about a vampire, my father wasn't a vampire, there was my proof and drawing that conclusion I nearly screamed.

"My father isn't a vampire!" my mind was working so hard, you could practically hear the wheels rotating in my head, anything I could think of to be able to hold on to my denial. They weren't stupid, they were right, but I didn't want to give in.

"He is now Nadira, he has sought out vampire's for the sole purpose of becoming one, to increase his chances of successfully retrieving you" she looked sad while she spoke to me.

I was dreaming, I had to be, it was my last way out, this is too ridiculous for words, my father turning into a vampire, yeah right! In a minute I would wake up in my bed, Embry's arms wrapped tightly around me, I smiled with closed eyes at the thought. A warm wet nose nudged my arm, forcing to come out of my ignorance of reality, my eyes opened and I saw him looking at me questioningly.

"Alice, she doesn't know, she has no idea why he would go through all this trouble" Edward said to her. When I remained silent after a while she finally spoke.

"Nadira, you're very special, I knew it the moment I met you, actually I can't believe that I haven't put two and two together before now. Do you have any memories from a story about the seer and the warrior?"

Yes, of course I remember, it contained one of the few good memories I had about my father, he would tell me stories every once in a while tucking me in. One of them was the story of the seer and the warrior, he had told it to me many times, he would even tell me that this was no ordinary legend, but it was actually our family history. He didn't think the legend held any truth did he, I started laughing loudly, the sound echoing between the trees in the silence of all that were present. My father had gone mad, he actually thought I was one of the gifted ones, my laughing ceased as abruptly as it had started, if he really did believe that I was, he would cause a lot more problems.

"You're worrying Embry" Edward looked at me.

"Oh, I'm sorry Em" I stroked his fur to let him know that I hadn't lost it "it's just that I remembered the story Alice mentioned and if he believes it to be the origin of our family, it would explain my father's persistence"

"Could you tell us the story?" Edward asked and I nodded, telling them the story how I remembered it had been told to me.

_Long ago in the deserts of Arabia, a young warrior who had yet to participate in a battle, sought advice from a young but known to reliable seer. She was hideously deformed and blind as the night, the seer ma__de__ him an offer, an offer she believed to be a fair one, she had no intention of_ _deceiving him and hoped that the _kindness in her voice would convince him_._

_She told him that he would be victorious on the on the battlefield many times over, he would be successful in business and guaranteed to be lucky in love, she could give him this in exchange for giving her a single child. For her body unable to hold beauty as his, along with the unique gifts that Allah entrusted to her _

_The daughter that would grow from her loins would posses his strength, beauty and courage as well as her psychic ,healing and magical abilities. Every daughter in her bloodline would posses his quality's, but within each daughter of every fifteenth generation, her mother's gifts would manifest themselves. _

_Every 15__th__ daughter would inherit her ability's, unlike the daughters of the remaining generations, which would only be able to tap into a very small part of these powers, in those girls their presence would be no more than a fleeting experience every once in a while, perceived mostly as luck or strong intuition. _

_He agreed to her offer and gave her a child and therefore she kept her end of their agreement, he led a very long and prosperous life as she had predicted. His child grew in her belly for nine full moons, after which she gave birth to a beautiful, strong and healthy girl, she was named Heba, meaning gifted one. _

_She would be the first to fully grow into her mother's unique talents, upon reaching full maturity she would have developed her power to their full potential. She and all other gifted ones that would follow within the bloodline, bore a distinct birthmark in the shape of a crescent moon, just below her left shoulder blade._

"If my father truly believes me to be a 15th daughter, he will move land and water to get to me" I added sadly, pressing my face into Embry's side, taking in his earthy smell as it relaxed me, it made me feel safe.

"Nadira, he believes it to be true but has not had any proof of any power manifesting itself. I on the other hand have" Carlisle spoke this time, I had not even registered him moving towards us or joining our conversation, but there he was standing right in front of me. When I looked around I noticed that everybody who had been spread out throughout the clearing had drawn near, to find out what was going on.

Carlisle had said something inconceivable, what did he mean by having seen a power manifest itself, I would have known if something like that had happened, right?

"What are you talking about Carlisle, it's a story, nothing but made up nonsense?" I tried to sound annoyed, but the words came out as a question.

"Your healing ability's have developed, at least to an extent. All this time I couldn't figure out what had happened, but it makes sense now" what made sense, didn't he get that he was being incredibly vague. Reading the confusion and irritation on my face, he spoke again.

"Taylan should not have survived his injuries even with his quick healing abilities, he was not healing at all when I left the room, his heart was failing. I was heading downstairs to prepare everybody for the worst, but before I reached the bottom step I heard his heartbeat get stronger, so I decided to hold off on the bad news" Carlisle seemed incredibly pleased with the information he had presented to us.

Frozen, I stared down onto my hands, that were now lying open, palms upward in my lap, my brain faltered and I wasn't able to think anymore, I just sat there without showing any sign of life. Taylan stepped forward, laid down and laid his head onto my hands, trying to meet my eyes and whining softly. This brought me out of my stupor and I looked up again meeting the eyes of the wolves and vampires that were staring at me.

"Are you telling me that I have healed Taylan?" I asked him.

"Although I hadn't linked you to his recovery, I'm now absolutely sure that you have saved his life"

Tears were slowly rolling down my face, the idea that Taylan would have died was hurting me so much I couldn't bare it, looking at the big wolf in front of me the absurdity of Carlisle's words reached me, so I couldn't help but laugh when Taylan lifted his head higher to lick the tears from my cheeks.

"Ok, do you have any idea how illogical that is, you probably just underestimated his strength to heal himself, that I happened to be in the room was nothing more than a coincidence" yes, this was much better, did they think that the existence of werewolves wasn't enough already, the wanted to throw another mythical creature into the mix. Perhaps others did exist, but she wasn't going to be one of them.

"Well, now that that's settled, isn't it better to start the training, we wouldn't want you to be extinct , now would we" I said with a fake smile on my face, desperately trying to change the mood. Embry tilted his head looking sad and questioning, urging me to talk to him.

"Leave it Embry, I don't want to talk about it" I said softly, trying to keep the bitch within me from clawing her way out and hurting Embry. As always Embry obeyed my request and got up, motioning Jake to do the same, when he did the others followed, leaving Nessie and me on the sidelines to watch.

She scooted over so that she was next to me, putting her arm around me, we sat in silence watching how the pack and the Cullen's trained. It was intense, although I couldn't make out most of their movements, I could hear the growls and snarls, the sound was so terrifying, that it made the hairs on my arms stand up.

~*~

A warm tongue licking my face woke me up, Nessie and I had fallen asleep sometime during the training on the thick forest floor. Laughing I pushed Embry's head away, with his tongue lolling out of his mouth, he almost looked as if he were smiling.

"Ok, I'm up, I'm up, no licking please!" I nuzzled in to his furry neck. I loved spending time with him in wolfy form, he was so cute, sweet and playful. He was all of those in human form, but this was different, it was very difficult to explain. But when I had asked Nessie about it one time, she had told me she felt the exact same way about Jake when he was phased.

He looked at me, as if he was trying to make sure I was actually awake before letting me get on his back. Pulling softly at strands of my hair, that would bounce back into a curl as soon as he released them, he was trying to make me react, get me alert.

When he was satisfied I was awake enough to hold on to him, he got down let me get on, at first I sat up on his back looking over the clearing to see that almost everybody had left already. Then I pressed my front onto his back and gripped his fur so tight that for a second I was afraid that I would hurt him, realizing quickly that my hands couldn't hurt him like that.

The run back home was exhilarating, knowing what I could expect this time, I was able to enjoy it from beginning to end. As soon as we reached my home, exhaustion kicked in, without the thrill of riding a wolf, it was a lot harder to stay awake. After changing quickly in my bathroom, we crept into bed, curling into Embry's warm body, sleep took me almost instantly.

~*~

At breakfast, well, lunch to be more accurate, it was already 14:00 o'clock, Leah asked us about the training and if Alice knew anymore. Embry told about last night, that we no knew who was coming, but when he came to the why, I quickly dismissed it.

Honestly I didn't want to think about what was said last night, the thought of any of it being true scared me so much, that I'd rather keep on acting as if it were nothing more than a delirious mind at work, maybe that way I would eventually accept it as that and move on.

The further Embry progressed in his report, that's what it sounded like, he kept everything so official, the weirder they all stared at me. I hated that, how many times had I been stared at as a child, always being the odd one out.

There had been a period when I was about ten or eleven, that I would not reply to a question or comment directed at me, I would just keep my head down and pretend not to hear anything. Socially I just didn't know how I was expected to behave, but I was smart enough to realize that the example my parents had set for me, wasn't the right one to follow.

So I did the only thing that I thought could do no harm, nothing, stupid me, that only caused my teacher at that time to ask questions. That resulted in an even weirder situation, my teacher was now partially aware of what went on, but my mother and me begged her to keep quiet.

Now that I looked back on it, she should never have listened to us, it was her job to act, to inform the proper agencies. Well she hadn't, she kept on watching how my behavior or non behavior progressed, how the other kids made fun of me because I was weird, I didn't blame them, I was weird, still am in a certain way, but not like that anymore.

Now I was becoming a freak again, it didn't made that much of a difference whether the story held any truth or not, the damage was done, they looked at me like was about to pop out another eye or something.

Now I was looking out of the window, excluding myself from their conversation, pretending not to hear their questions, hoping that they would get it out of their system and leave the matter alone after that. Of course I was not that lucky!

"Nadira!" Taylan came running into the kitchen through the back door, Fathiya struggling to keep upright while he pulled her along.

"What is it now!" I was taking it out on him, feeling guilty immediately.

"I'm sorry if we're interrupting, but this is kind of important" he said apologetically.

"Your father is, well, he is her father" he said while pointing at Fathiya.

"What?!" what is this some sort of horrible nightmare, some sort of not-funny-at all practical joke?!

"Yeah, I've tried to find my parents once, it's then that I found out that my mother didn't survive a complication with the delivery when I was born. My adoptive parents had known that when they adopted me, so they told me about that when I asked about her. They didn't know anything about my father though, so that was a little more difficult. Eventually we learned his name and that he was in prison, I didn't know he was your father as well, you don't have his name"

Her words were being slowly processed in my mind, which already spinning with every piece of information from last night and now this. It was just too much, I looked at her, than desperately turned to Embry, she was my sister?! Then everything went black and I slipped away in darkness.

~*~

Far away someone was talking, but nowhere near enough to hear what was being said. At first I let it go, but it started bothering me that I couldn't understand this person, so I strained to actually be able to recognize the words individually, rather than a mumbling mess.

"She doesn't think she is, bit I'm sure of it, she just need's to come to that conclusion on her own" is he talking about me.

"But how can she not know, I mean, she would have realized she was different at some point" another voice, this was Leah.

"She didn't do anything intentionally, I'm thinking her gifts are triggered by emotion, like with the wolves or Bella" the first voice again, who was that, it sounded familiar, wasn't that Carlisle?

"Well, if that's the case, finding out about her father like that, was probably what caused it" it, what? I wanted to know but my voice didn't work, maybe I should start with opening my eyes. I blinked a few times, but they wouldn't stay open.

"She's coming to, Nadira can you hear me? Why is this happening, why can't I get to her?!" this voice was the most beautiful I's ever heard, so warm, so sweet, this was without a doubt my Embry, but the concern rang through like a bell.

Trying harder to open my eyes, desperate to find out what was going on, why Embry sounded so far away, why couldn't I feel him. Finally I managed to see something, when I adjusted to the light I could see Carlisle, Tom and Leah on the other side of the room, that I identified as the kitchen.

Scanning around, still searching for Embry, I started panicking, then I saw him, he looked as if he was in pain, pushing against something that wasn't there about 5 or 6 feet from me.

"Hold him, he's at it again!" Leah screamed.

"Embry, stop you're hurting yourself!" Tom and Carlisle were trying to hold him back, but to no avail, he kept pounding on the invisible wall, so hard that his hands were bleeding. Watching Embry hurt himself was horrible, my hart shuddered and all I wanted to do was hold him. As soon as the thought entered my mind, Embry hit air and stumbled to the floor, without thinking about it he crept towards me and yanked me into is arms.

"Oh Embry, your hands!" now that his arms were around me, I saw the damage to his arms and hands up close. They were swollen and bruised until the point where the skin had broken and blood was flowing out.

"It's ok, now that I can hold you again, I'm ok" he held me tight and was swaying lightly from side to side.

"What happened?" I gently stroked his bruises, trying to ease the pain.

"You fainted, but when I wanted to catch you, I couldn't reach you, something was all around you, keeping me from you. I've been trying to get to you for almost an hour, it was like hitting a brick wall, but stronger" he had hurt himself trying to get to me! I felt terrible, I had no clue about what was going on or understood half of what he was saying, but that part reached me loud and clear.

I lifted his hands to my lips and started kissing them softly, stroking every remaining part at the same time, luckily he was a wolf and he was already healing. Embry relaxed under my touch, leaning his head onto my shoulder, then he gasped and when I looked at him his eyes were wide in shock.

"Nady, how did you do that?" the question was asked by Carlisle.

"What, how did I do what?" what was he talking about now, I wondered if he knew how often I had no idea what he was talking about.

"My hands" this time it was Embry who spoke. I looked at his hands in mine, noticed they were already healed, but didn't see anything out of the ordinary and looked up questioningly.

"There were at least four bones broken, but Embry didn't let me treat him until you would be ok" Carlisle said and then turned to Embry "how do they feel?"

"Tingly, good tingly, there's no pain, when she kissed them the tingling started" he replied.

He lifted one of his hands to my face so that I was looking straight at him "no matter how much you want to deny it, you've healed my hands" then he kissed me, it was so intense, that it removed all thoughts from my mind.

"Do you mind if I take Nadira up to her room, I think she needs some time" he lifted me up into his arms without taking his eyes of me and carried me to my room, where he laid me down on the bed and crawled on top of me. We kissed and caressed each other lovingly until we fell asleep in each other's arms.


	16. Sisters

**Disclaimer: Twilight is all Stephanie Meyer, I own nothing.**

**AN: **Here I am, writing my ass off, to finish the next chapter for you guys, only to find out afterwards that I couldn't upload it, ARGH! For hours I tried to get my chapter uploaded, a whole day the error kept appearing, every time I attempted to access the Download Manager. Finally, after a lot of frustration and impatience, it's up there, hopefully it was worth the wait, enjoy!

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Sisters

~*~

POV: Nadira

~*~

Waking up wrapped in Embry's arms, is the best way of starting a day, feeling his warm soft arms around me, keeping me warm even though the average November temperature is about 45°F around here. His even breathing and soft snoring told me that he was still asleep, giving me a chance to admire this beautiful russet skinned man in my bed, holding me so tight.

Very carefully I sat up, leaning on my pillow against the headboard, I knew Embry wouldn't wake up from my shifting as long as he could feel me there. Like clockwork he shifted so his arm was around my middle and his head leaning on my belly, where he continued his snoring, I smiled down on him and gently stroked his soft black hair.

I was glad he was still sleeping, he must be tired from everything that had happened, my eyes scanned his hand remembering the way it had looked yesterday, then I lifted my hand to my head, examining the bump created when I blacked out. It's existence was proof of what had happened yesterday, that I had somehow created some sort of impenetrable bubble around me, which in its place had caused Embry a lot of pain.

Now I was no longer to deny what I was, a freak, I had no other word for it, an image of the way they had stared at me when Embry told them flashed before me. What was worse now was that if I was like this, Fathiya would apparently be the same, could it be possible that she was my sister.

It made me despise my father even more, because that would mean he had impregnated another woman while she had been carrying me, since she is about six months younger than me. Poor girl, I sincerely hope she isn't my sister, for her sake, because if she is she would have this fate inflicted upon her, just like that.

Selfishly, a part of me hopes that she is, a unique bond I could have with her, sharing these weird experiences, not having to go through that alone. I knew I had to figure out exactly what I was capable of and how I could control it, we could do that together if she was my sister.

So conflicted between the two options, when it hit me, it didn't matter what I wanted or not, there was nothing I could do about it, I had to accept the truth, whatever that might be. Today I would go and talk to her, I hoped that my reaction yesterday hadn't given her the wrong idea.

I had upset about the fact that her being my sister would mean that he had betrayed my mother, as if she hadn't been through enough already, not about Fathiya being my sister, if there had been an affair of some sorts, she would be the one good thing that had come out of it.

Today I saw things differently that yesterday, if I had known then what I know now, my reaction might have been even worse, if that were possible. So many questions unanswered, they would probably stay that way, there was no one I could ask.

Embry stirred, the movements of his nose in my belly tickled me, so I tried to push him off me without any success, laughing softly, watching him wake, it always took him a while.

"Morning gorgeous" I said while stroking his cheek, he pushed himself up slightly to settle himself higher on my chest where he closed his eyes again.

"Hey sweetie, how long have you been awake?" his eyes still closed, he was breathing slowly. I glanced at the clock, to conclude I had been awake for almost two hours, time sure does go fast when you're not paying attention.

"A while now" I answered his question, but not really "you looked like you needed the sleep, so I didn't want to wake you"

"Next time, just wake me up ok, I don't mind" he said his voice still sleepy.

"Sure" yeah right, I would let him sleep of course.

"You say that every time though" he opened one eye to look at me suspiciously.

"Well then, why do you keep asking?" I looked down on him smiling a big smile.

"Hmm" was al he said and his eyelid fell again. He was so cute, all sleepy like this, I ruffled my hand through his hair and placed a small kiss on his forehead.

"That won't do young lady!" he said growling playfully, suddenly he pulled my legs down roughly, he pushed himself off me only to place me under him very fast, taken by surprise I emitted a high pitched squeal.

"Now, how about a real morning kiss!" he hovered above me for an instant before seizing my lips with his. His warm soft lips moving with mine in synchronized perfection, adding pressure while entangling his hands in my hair, I opened my mouth slightly to let his tongue enter my mouth.

My hands roaming the naked skin of his back, enjoying the feel of his smooth skin under my hands, boldly I let my hands drift further south until settling them on top of his shorts squeezing slightly. He groaned when I took his bottom lip between my teeth biting and pulling it before I sucked on it with, the sound sent shivers through my body.

Very slow, but determined he grabbed the hem of my nightgown, pulling it up, he looked at me to ask permission to continue, when I nodded he lifted the nightgown over my head and threw it on the floor.

His breath hitched as he took in the sight of me, dressed in nothing but my light blue panties, missing his warmth against me, I pulled him down to kiss him again, feeling his skin on mine without any barriers sent tingling sensations through my body, igniting where our bodies were linked together.

I felt his hands on my stomach moving upwards while moving his mouth to my neck, he blew softly on the skin he had just kissed, the sensation resulted in goose bumps all over my skin. Then his hands reached the bottom of my breasts, his thumbs softly caressing the sides before circling inwards until he reached my nipples, rubbing them gently with his thumbs.

I moaned under the delight of his touch and in my lower belly the knot tightened, while he repeated the action on until my they hardened under his warm hands. He kept kissing my neck fervently, my hands were grabbing and pulling is hair desperately, trying to get him closer to me.

His hands snaked to my back and he placed his mouth to mine again, until he let his head fall to the pillow right beside me, where he stayed while catching his breath. Still holding me close to him, with my arms around him we laid there until our breathing had slowed down a bit, enjoying being so close to each other.

I loved how he would take me to a new level of intimacy, each time he was exploring new parts of my body, while never pushing me or taking too many steps at once or too fast, always patient and considerate of my feelings.

We stayed in bed until hunger forced us to dress and go down to the kitchen, I hadn't told him yet, but today I would go and see my probable sister. I thought it was best if we talked about everything before seeing each other at school tomorrow, while he was baking eggs for us I told him.

"Em"

"Hmm?" his back still facing me.

"I think I should go and talk to Fathiya today, you know, about everything" he turned with the pan in his hands, sliding the eggs onto our plates and sat down.

"Everything?" he looked at me "does that include your talents?"

"They're not talents Embry, at least not as long as I have no control over them" I sighed "and yes that includes telling her what I am, because if she is my sister, it means that she would be subjected to the same fate as mine" he put down his knife and fork.

"What do you mean, the same fate?"

"Well, according to the legend, it's every girl from every 15th generation, that would include her if she is my father's daughter. As it would others, I mean, in 15 generations, the bloodline would be spread wouldn't it?" he looked baffled.

"I hadn't thought about it like that, I guess you're right. You should find out if she is your sister for sure though, maybe you could ask Carlisle to run a test?"

"Yeah, that's a good idea, but I'm gonna tell her anyway, since she's part of the pack family through Taylan"

"Yeah, that's true. Do you want me to come with you?" he hesitated before asking me.

"No, I think I should do this alone you know"

"Are you sure, I mean, what if you freak out over something again?" he looked at the table while he spoke to me.

"Oh shit! You're so right, I can't even go talk to my sister alone!" see what I mean, I'm a total freak, I don't even know what could happen if I got really mad, I slammed my fists on the table.

"Nady baby! Please calm down, you need to try and control your emotions, I think your powers are triggered by them!" he rubbed my back, his soothing touch relaxed me instantly as it always did and I took a few deep breaths to steady myself.

"Embry, do you have any idea how bad this is? What if I freak out at school or something, what if hurt somebody?" I kept breathing consciously to keep calm.

"Nadira, I think we should talk to Sam as well, there have been wolves with temper problems, which made them phase at the drop of a hat, maybe he has some ideas on how you could learn to control yourself"

"I hope he can help" I mumbled to myself "you better come with me when I go to Fathiya's then" I tried not to sound too disappointed but I think he picked up on it anyway.

"You wanna go when we're finished eating?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'll give her a call first though"

~*~

We were now driving to Fathiya and Romy's house, I stared out of the window, desperate to find out whether or not she was my sister. If she was, I wondered if my mother ever had any knowledge of my father's extramarital activities.

Embry felt my tension and grabbed my hand in his, he started rubbing the back of it with his thumb. Brining our morning in bed back to my thoughts, when something else was triggered by my beautiful memories, intimacy was emotional too, would I have some sort of reaction to that too? My breath faltered at the thought, before I remembered that Embry was sitting next to me, but he had already noticed my distress.

"What is it baby?" Embry sounded concerned.

"It's nothing really, I'm just having a hard time processing everything" and I did my best to regulate my breathing.

When we arrived, Fathiya and Taylan were sitting outside, on the porch steps, waiting for us. She ran to me as soon as I was out of the car, she threw her arms around me and let her tears fall, sobbing into my shoulder.

So many thoughts flashed through my head, was she afraid that I wouldn't accept her, was she happy that we were sisters, did she doubt her conclusion, she should be careful around me. But for now I hugged her back and held her tight, when she released me she smiled through her tears.

"Come inside, my parents also want to meet you" with that she grabbed my hand and pulled me inside, our boyfriends following behind us.

After introductions and a lot of awkward hugs the four of us sat down at the kitchen table, she had gotten her file and was now opening it. She pulled out a few documents and a picture, which she handed to me.

"This is all the information I have on who my father is" she said.

I looked down on the papers, but the picture caught my eye immediately, it was a picture of my father smiling like I have never seen him smile, his arm around a woman I didn't know. When I turned it over it said 'Hassan and me, May 15th 1993' that was about three months before I was born, so this had to be her mother.

"Is that him?" she asked me.

"Yeah, it is, I've never seen him look so happy though, it seems he really cared about her" other than thinking it was the truth I wanted to make her feel better.

"Yeah, I've looked at that picture so many times thinking the same thing" she sounded sad. My eyes went over the papers, it was a report of some sorts, containing the events surrounding Fathiya's birth, apparently she was aware that she wouldn't survive the delivery, her doctor had written it off as paranoia.

She had already decided on adoption and a social worker had been present for the delivery, she had insisted everything would be written down, so that her daughter would have the information to find her father. Nothing would be recorded officially, the adoption papers and birth certificate would list father unknown.

The report was so sad, her mother had tried to tell as much about herself and the father as she could, she had been the one to name her daughter Fathiya and requested that the adoptive parent would keep the name, which they had obviously done even if they didn't have to.

Everything told me that she was my sister, when I looked up and met her eyes, I knew, without any doubt that she was my sister, and realized that I had known since I had met her a few weeks back.

"You _are_ my sister" I stated.

"You think" she asked suddenly uncertain.

I shook my head "no, I don't think you are, I know" a smile crept over my face, the selfish side of me had gotten what it wanted and now I would let myself be happy about it.

"You're not mad or anything?" she asked me, but by now she was smiling too.

"No, how could I be mad, I'm just a bit sad for my mother, that her husband betrayed her like that on top of everything else he did to her"

"Yeah, I don't think I want to know much about him, I'm just grateful that I have you as a sister" she was blissfully unaware what being my sister entailed exactly.

"There is something I have to tell you though, about our family history" and I told her the story, Embry kept squeezing my hand reassuringly, it was a lot harder now that I knew it to be true.

"Are you saying that we are descendants of this Heba?" I nodded.

"More than that, we are daughters of the 15th generation" Taylan had listened to the story without actually thinking about it, but when I mentioned us being of the 15th generation he gasped, it had clearly sunk in.

"Are you saying she is like you in that way too?" he asked looking at her.

"I assume she is, although I have no way to be sure, we'll have to wait and see, she's about 6 months younger than me, so I'm sure it won't take long before we know" Fathiya was getting confused.

"What does it mean exactly, to be like you?" she asked me and I told her about Taylan's injuries, to surrounding myself into a protective bubble and ending with healing Embry.

"Yesterday, you did that? We didn't understand what was going on, we were just glad to receive a call from Leah, letting us know that you were alright"

"I'm not sure exactly what I did, but we know it was me, I have no idea what the extent of it is. I have to find out and try to learn how to control it, of course I will share everything with you"

"So, all that will happen to me too?" the happiness that had been visible on her face had disappeared.

"Fa, don't you see, if it weren't for Nadira, I wouldn't be here now. It's truly an exceptional gift, I'll be forever grateful to her and I'm honored to have imprinted on someone so special" his words rang through in my head, until now I had only seen the backside of all this, but there was a lot of good we could do too.

"Taylan is right, I'll do everything I can to learn as much as I can, so you will be more prepared for it. We're going to Sam's later, since it seems to be triggered by emotions, it's similar to the problems a temperamental wolf might have"

Hope had found its way into my thoughts again, we could help people with all kinds of problems and if Embry or another wolf were to get hurt in the upcoming fight, or at some other point we would be able to heal them.

"Fathiya, do you realize that it is your father and the vampire army he brings, that forms our current threat, he will be coming for Nadira, although we don't know when" Embry spoke for the first time since we had arrived.

"Yes, when Taylan told me Nadira's father was coming for her I hadn't even drawn the conclusion that he was my father too. I intend to stand by her when he arrives as a sister should"

"You don't think you will be there do you?" Taylan asked her with a shocked voice.

"Of course I will, if Nadira's there, I will be too!"

"Well, than you can relax, because Nadira won't be there" Embry said reassuringly.

"Excuse me?!" had he lost his mind?

"I _will_ be there!" looking at him angrily "what if the worst comes to worst and he'll get away and finds his way to the village? Do you want to put all those people at risk, I couldn't live with the guilt if something like that happened!"

"We will not discuss this now! We don't even know when they are coming" Embry knew better then to get into this now, so he ended the argument before it had begun. But I sent Fathiya a look that said 'no matter what, we will be there' when we got up to leave.

~*~

That afternoon there was a small meeting at Sam and Emily's, Jacob was there and Fathiya and Taylan had come with us, Tom and Leah were there as well.

Sam and the other retired wolves had already been informed of everything, from the training session and the weird stunts I had pulled yesterday. He actually had a lot of tips and breathing techniques and also advised me to talk too Paul, he apparently had some troubles controlling his temper when he first started phasing.

Paul really, he was so calm now, so whipped, Rachel seemed to have him wrapped around her little finger. According to Sam and Embry, he had been a lot more volatile before meeting and imprinting on Rachel, becoming a father had changed him even more.

Jacob had been present too, his idea was that Logan and Taylan were to keep an eye on me and also on Fathiya just to be on the safe side, since they would be able to heal faster if something were to go wrong .

By the end of the day, I felt a lot better, I found that I was absolutely not alone and everyone would do what they could to help me and Fathiya if it would be necessary.

Alice had another vision about the attack, we still had a while to prepare ourselves they would not be coming until at least spring, probably half april, so for now the pack and the Cullen's would train once a week and we had a lot of time to focus on exploring my abilities.

At home, I had called Nessie, to tell her everything, most of it had already been told to her by Jacob, which I should have expected, he could never keep anything from her and nobody had said that he should.

Lying in bed that night, I tried to process everything, but it was too much, most was still unreal and unfamiliar. In time though I would get used to being different and I was lucky to have found not only such a loving family, but is was also one so much better equipped to deal with this that a regular one.

On top of that it turned that I had a sister, with whom I could most likely share my weirdness and a boyfriend that would stand by my side the entire time. I was still a bit worried because I simply had no idea what to expect, but also looking forward to the day I would be able to help people with my gifts.

Embry had called to wish me a good night, he usually did that when he couldn't stay over, we spent a while talking even though we had been together for the entire weekend and he had only left a few hours ago, we were ridiculous like that, but I loved every minute of it.

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**AN:**Let me know what you think!


	17. Unsure

**Disclaimer: **Twilight is all Stephanie Meyer, I own nothing.

**AN: **Maybe this seems a bit weird to you all (weird being my middle name you should probably get used to it) but I'm getting the feeling some of you have lost interest in my story? I've received a few reviews that have put my mind at ease a bit, thanks for those by the way, they kept me afloat! But I can't help but notice that there have been significantly less reviews for the last chapter. This is the first story I've written, in like ever, so I'm bound to make at least a few mistakes, please bare with me!

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Unsure

~*~

POV: Embry

~*~

Last weekend had passed like a whirlwind, throwing at us untilled there was nothing left to throw. Not just any vampire, but apparently Nadira's father turned into a vampire, was coming bringing an army of newborns with him.

Then there was the mystical issue, explaining why he would go through the agonizing pain that that would inevitably follow the venomous bite of a vampire, only to get to her.

Followed by the realization that she wasn't alone in her quest that lay ahead, besides me of course, in the form of an before unknown sister, Fathiya, bound to the same journey, all be it slightly delayed with six months or so.

My head was still whirling, filled with so many thoughts, I was giving myself a headache. Nadira had clearly resented the idea of being what her father believed her to be, as a werewolf I understood what it was like to have a destiny, a responsibility of such magnitude thrust upon you.

But somehow I doubted, that her difficulty lie in the same area as mine once had, a part of me understood that she had felt different throughout most of her life, living among the pack members and their imprints made her feel normal for once, since she wasn't the one exploding into a giant fur ball at the first sign of danger.

It had been one of the other wolves that had made her see the positive side of things, being the good hearted girl that she was, the prospect of being able to help other's made her reside in a form of gratitude, that one day she would be able to comfort and ease the pain for whomever was burdened with it.

Although the fear remained in her, she knew perfectly well that the change wouldn't come over night, she would have to explore her gifts, test her capabilities and push her boundaries, in order for her to become the person who she so desperately wanted to become.

I had promised myself that I would help her discover what lies within her, and during patrol Jake, Taylan and Logan had vouched to be there every step of the way, Nessie was determined to be guinea pig as well. During the months that she had resided in LaPush, she had created a circle of loved ones around her, that would do just about anything for her, partly due to the knowledge that nothing would be too great a sacrifice for her, if it meant helping even only one of us.

She was a truly kind and generous person, not that she saw it like that of course, she was blind to her own perfectness, if only she could see how we perceived her, if only she could see the image of her that I hold in my mind as I go to sleep every night.

From the moment I had imprinted on her, I had dreamed of her every night, at first they were dreams of hope that she would mend her psychological wounds, and even nightmares filled with the terror that I had imagined to be her childhood.

Recently they had turned to dreams where I would see every different possibility I could imagine for her future, I say her because there had been a certain scenario of her without me. Every morning when I woke, her angelic face would be burned upon my retina, my surrounding unfocussed, only she would be clear, staying with me all day long.

Most of the time I saw her on first beach or anywhere else for that matter, lifting up a little girl, twirling her around above her head. This little girl bore such resemblance to Nadira, that she could be none other than her daughter. As soon as the girl spotted me, she would wiggle trying to get out of her mother's arms, pleading with her mother until her feet were placed securely on the sand.

Only to start running to me the moment she was able to, all the while yelling daddy, over and over again. When she reached me she wouldn't slow down, but merely jump, knowing that I would catch her and that I did. Nadira made her way over to us, watching the girl wrapping her little arms around my neck, smiling at the image in front of her.

She would join us, lean in to my side, so I could pull her close with an arm that snaked around her the instant she was close enough. My arm went around her waist to reach her belly, to gently rub the slight baby bump that was present, watching my family was the most beautiful and gratifying dream I had ever had.

Last weekend I saw her future in solitude for the first time, she had been standing in the sands of an infinite desert, dressed in white robes, which swirling around her as the wind played with them. Her dark curls surrounding her face, moving with the air, tangling into a thick dark mass falling onto her back, her eyes a piercing amber so intense.

Her expression conveyed a sad longing, but somehow she wasn't unhappy, she was merely lonely staring out into the unknown, as if waiting she were waiting for something, not the fact that I had no part in her dream was what made me aware that we weren't together here, it was the emotion visible in her big brown eyes.

Dreams where I would have visions like these, would only grace me in my sleep when I spent the night in her presence, and although I found some images extremely unsettling, I felt content with them as soon as I woke up.

Her goddess like features were engraved in every part of my brain, I could spend hours lying in bed alone looking at them, still trying to wrap my mind around the fact that was mine.

A sense of pride overtook me, every time I thought about being the one fate had chosen to be the soul mate, of such an unique and beautiful creature. She had been that from the very beginning of our rapidly growing relationship, but the events that occurred last weekend led us to the conclusion that she was so much more than that, I could only hope to be worthy of her.

In a way our magical tie to each other made sense, if she were matched with a non-magical man, her life would be exceedingly more difficult. Within our family there was no need to convince anybody of the existence of mythical beings, we knew for a fact that they weren't a figment of anybody's imagination.

Over the next months or maybe even years we would try to research the extent of her gifts, mostly I was excited about the prospect of her fully developing her powers, but a part of me was apprehensive, we had no idea what that entailed or to what extent she would be able to inflict pain or damage, we were flying completely in the dark on this one.

Although I was sure that her emotions were the key to unraveling the mystery that was Nadira, a gifted one, or so the legend told. When she had created the bubble of invisible stone this had become clear to me, as far as I could tell, it had been a form of self protection, triggered by her panicked reaction.

Would that mean that we had to scare her half to death trying to recreate the bubble, in order for her to do it on her own accord? That idea didn't sit well with me at all, but I had to admit, that a weight would be lifted from my shoulders if I knew she had the ability to create the impenetrable bubble consciously.

Also, would he have create strong emotions, such as anger, to induce a supernatural reaction? Or would she be able to call on other gifts, once she knew how to use one? I really had no way of imagining how we would proceed, but I had faith in my little one, she would do it, win this internal battle to regain an inner balance.

Her healing ability seemed to be the easiest one to access, she had used it unconsciously on Taylan and only partly aware of what she was doing when she had healed my hands, for her to be able to heal, there was need for a physical link added to her simple wish for the injured person to get better.

Every night I spend alone I missed her, not being able to let myself relax unless she was near, made my weariness grow with each passing day of the week, which resulted in ridiculous amounts of sleep when I stayed the night every weekend.

If only she would wake me whenever she was done sleeping, it wouldn't be so bad, but despite my persistence she refused to do so and always let me sleep. Waking up was like coming home, using her soft belly as my pillow, looking up to her face so deep in thoughts.

Oh, what I wouldn't give to spend eternity in her arms, to be able to wake with her beside me every morning, to kiss her sweet lips goodnight every evening. I believed that one day we would, we would be married, we would share our lives together, we would start our own family.

But I was the first to admit that we had a long way to go.

~*~

The next week passed in a blur, seeing Nadira only after school, I was used to that of course, but the desire to be near her never faded. She had made me promise to take me to all the training sessions the pack had with the Cullen's, but the most important reason for Jake to allow her to attend, was simply because he wasn't able to refuse his Nessie.

When Taylan had requested Fathiya's presence he was denied, although he promised that as soon as she started showing signs of manifesting her powers she would be allowed to be there, but for now, only Nessie and Nadira would be there.

During training I did my best to keep an eye out for my girl, but I had to focus in order to not get injured, even if it was just practice, my attacker would take advantage of my distraction and strike.

But when Nadira started screaming at Nessie I couldn't contain my concern and turned to see what was happening, luckily I wasn't the only one. What we witnessed between the two girls, was truly magnificent and mortifying at the same time.

Nadira's hands were raised as if she was going to hit her, but instead they remained still, then a blue light beams shot out of them, directed at Nessie. Nessie in her turn dodged the beams with her vampire speed, she wasn't as fast as the rest of her family, but fast enough since she was expecting something.

Jake's protectiveness of Nessie got the better of him, he charged towards Nadira in anger.

"_No, Jake stay back, you're gonna hurt her!"_ I mentally yelled at him.

He didn't listen and I feared for her safety, but when he came within a few feet of her he bounced back hard and fell to the ground, she had activated her bubble so he couldn't get to her.

Rushing over to Nadira, careful when I got to her, Jake was still shaking his head to clear the dizziness created by the collision, but she had already pulled back, so I was able to get next to her.

"_Stupid dog! What were you thinking, you can't do that! You could have hurt her!"_ now that I knew she was safe, anger bubbled up.

"_Dude, I'm sorry, I acted on instinct, I wasn't really thinking"_ Jake felt guilty and ashamed for what he did.

"I'm so sorry!" she sobbed, looking at both Nessie and Jake.

"Don't be sorry silly, that was supposed to happen! And as far as Jake's concerned, it's his own fault, he shouldn't have interfered!" Nessie assured her.

"_That was supposed to happen?"_ Jake was confused.

"_Well apparently, I don't get it either"_ I answered Jake's question, both of us looked at our imprints for an explanation.

Nadira was still upset, but Nessie got the message.

"We decided to do some training of our own, or well I did, she didn't want to at first" she shot an apologetic look towards Nadira.

"I tried to persuade her, saying that she had to prepare, eventually I showed her an image, telling her that it would happen if she didn't get her act together. I didn't really think that, but I was trying to get her upset, angry and it worked!" she was obviously proud of herself.

Now it was Nadira's turn to get mad.

"You did that on purpose! That's horrible!" everybody backed away, in case the blue light appear again, everybody except Nessie that was.

"Seriously, she has to be a lot more upset than that to ignite a power!" she was laughing loudly before adding "Sissies!"

"Nessie, you can't do that to me, I could have hurt you" the anger in her voice had receded but her tone held a considerable amount of discontent.

"I knew what I was doing Nadira, I was prepared for it" she said it as if she was truly to ignorant to acknowledge the possible danger.

"Nessie, you have no idea what could have happened if she had accidentally struck you with that" Edward wasn't angry with Nadira, but disapproved of Nessie's actions to provoke her.

"You shouldn't do that again Nessie, you're not able to recover as fast as the wolves" Bella agreed "worse you might not be able to do so at all" her face stricken with worry for her daughter.

"Ok, ok, I won't do it again, but we will have to test the effect on vampire's somehow, she might be able to shoot them down from the trees or something" Nessie said casually.

Nadira bent over howling with laughter "yeah…. I can… totally… see that… happening…" but when nobody else laughed she stopped "you're not serious are you?" she stared at us in disbelief.

I heard the thought of the other wolves enter my consciousness, pleased with the thought, some actually visualizing her in the trees, while vampires evaporated in blue smoke.

"_Would you stop!" _she was NOT participating in the fight, it was bad enough that she wanted to be there in the first place.

"_Embry, I know you don't want to hear this, but it might not be such a bad idea, first we would have to find out what she can do to vampires of course, but if she is able to do that, we have to use that advantage"_ Jake tried to reason with me.

"_Find out what she can do to vampires, how do you plan on doing that, put her alone in a room with a leech!?" _was I the only one thinking straight?!

"_Well not alone of course, we would be there, probably not a room either_" Jake said almost jokingly.

"_This isn't funny Jake! This is her life we're talking about, it isn't her duty to protect the people from vampires, it's ours, in case you have forgotten!" _but before he could answer Brady's thought reached me.

"_It is her fault that we're under attack in the first place, it's only reasonable for her to help us if she's able to"_ this resulted in angry reactions from a few other wolves.

That was enough for me, I couldn't continue this conversation any longer, I phased behind a tree and pulled on my shorts, and strode towards Nadira. I pulled her with me, without giving her the chance to say goodbye to anyone, she struggled against me, but I ignore her attempt to stop me.

"Embry wait, what happened" she hadn't heard our conversations of course, thinking back to it, gave me a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. Images of her, opposite of some red eyed leech ready to pounce on her, while she stood there consumed with fear, horribly defenseless filled my mind.

"Em, come on, talk to me, everything is ok, nobody got hurt!" she pleaded with me, looking back on her face finally caused me to stop walking.

"No Nadira, it's not that, it's…" horrible, terrible, utterly disturbing, so you'll probably agree!

"What then?" she eyebrows lifted in confusion.

"Well, they uhm, want to test your uhm, effectiveness on vampires?" it came out as a question.

"So they want to see if I am actually able to incapacitate them, even if it is only temporary" she mused "you know that if I can make difference if I am able to assist in any way I will"

See, that right there, that's what I was afraid of, she went on without noticing the look on my face "although I must say it sounds a bit farfetched, me fighting vampires" did she not hear the horror in her words, did she not see what the unthinkable risk would be?

"You are not going to put yourself in danger, just to see what might happen!"

"Embry, surely I wouldn't be in danger, you would all be there in case my powers have no effect on vampires" the idea clearly spoke to her "maybe we should go back and talv it over with the rest" she uttered.

"No, we're not going back!" I was losing my patience now "we're going home to talk about this, we'll see what Leah and Tom have to say, they are you're guardians you know" it was a low blow, but I couldn't think of anything else.

"Embry, you know that they would never try to keep me from something if was completely sure that it was the right thing to do" her voice was calm, reasoning, but it made it only worse.

"Nadira, don't you get it, I could never live with myself if something happened to you, the idea of you putting yourself in jeopardy on purpose, makes me sick alone. What if you actually got hurt or worse, what if you were killed or turned even, you can't do this to me!"

I didn't like the idea of making her feel guilty, but my chest was squeezed so tight with fear, that thinking had become very difficult. My heart was beating erratically and my breath came in short bursts, I was having a full blown panic attack. Caused by my the fact, that she would be increasing the chances of my worst fear becoming reality, if she went ahead with this, which was losing her.

I collapsed onto my knees right in front of her, unable to hold myself together, tears gliding down my face silently. Most of the time I was able to be strong for her, so my sudden break down startled her.

"Em, calm down, we'll talk, I won't do anything without having you supporting my decision, I promise!" she grabbed my shoulder and pressed me against her, combing her fingers through my hair, her nails stroking my scalp, her touch instantly relaxed me.

She kept soothing me with sweet words, placing small kisses all over my face, while I held her close to me with my arms around her waist, as if I was afraid she would run away.

"Shall we go home?" she asked me when my sobbing had subsided.

"Mm hmm" I nodded, unable to speak just jet. Reluctantly I released her from my grip and stood up slowly, a bit afraid to look at her, I finally lifted my head to meet her eyes.

"So, I assume we're walking back" she said with a smile.

"I don't want to phase, but I'm still quite fast in human form, so I'll carry you" without giving her time to respond I placed one arm behind her knees and the other behind her back, lifting her in my arms bridal style.

Having her this close to me, being able to inhale her scent, watching her curl into me, placing her small hand on my chest, made me feel a lot better.

When we arrived at her house, we were surprised to find Tom and Leah still awake, Nessie had called them, explaining what had happened and they turned out be almost as worried about Nady as I was.

We spend the rest of the night talking, about the training, the pack, Nadira's gifts and what the proper course of action would be. They surprised me by agreeing with her in the end, despite their concern for her well being, they promised to support her decision, if she chose to test her abilities and even if she would join the fight against the vampire army.

Later I realized that they would be able to see things from a different perspective, now that they were forced to stay behind, instead of being able to fight with us as they were accustomed to.

We had gone to bed around 3 a.m. and Nadira was exhausted, so sleep took her quickly, but could not find rest. Apparently I was the only one still objecting to her desire to be part of our defense system, so I knew I would eventually have to give in, if she truly wanted is, I would not be able to deny her.

Until the day this would be behind us, I would not find peace, my mind would be in a permanent state of frenzy. Most people would notice though, even in wolf form I was very good at hiding my thoughts, better than most actually.

I had always been a somewhat silent and introvert sort of person, doing much more thinking than talking. That is how I would spend most of my nights away from her, worrying, thinking, analyzing, now that pattern seemed to have spread itself to the nights I was actually with her.

That was my prospect for the months ahead, unsure of what was to come, unsure of how it would end, it was killing me and would continue to do so, no matter what I did.

* * *

**AN:** So, this was a very philosophical Embry, which is how I see him by the way. Whereas Nadira is much more emotional and dutiful, they are very serious individuals. That is one of the reasons I wrote Fathiya into the story, she is much more carefree, we will get to know her better soon, so maybe we'll have something to laugh about then!


	18. Rematch!

**Disclaimer: **Twilight is all Stephanie Meyer, I own nothing.

**AN: **Thanks for your reviews, it is good to see you're still liking it, you've put my worrying to a rest!!! Also, there have been a lot of new subscribers, I'm very honored that my story has been added to your favorite or alert list!!!

* * *

Rematch!

~*~

POV: Nadira

~*~

As upset as Embry was last night, he seemed worse today, judging by the way he looked he hadn't slept at all after that. He wasn't a big talker to begin with, but this afternoon he was even quieter than usual, his playfulness seemed to be lost completely, with only sadness in his eyes.

The worst thing was, that I knew exactly how to fix it, but that was the one thing I couldn't do, so I had to watch him suffer at my expense, it made me feel horribly guilty. More than anything I wanted to give in to his request, but that would be the most selfish thing I could ever do, so I ignored my feelings and kept my foot down.

When I had tapped my powers during training yesterday it had been different, I was actually aware that I was using them even though the actions had still been involuntary. But at least now a had a better sense of how it felt when they were active, it made me think that maybe I could manage it without being provoked as I had been last night.

Today we would be doing a different sort of training, three other wolves besides Embry had volunteered themselves to assist me, in two hours they would all be at the rendezvous point, bringing their imprint with them. That was a cause for concern to me, it would be horrible for them to watch if one of them would actually get hurt, I could only imagine.

Leah brought me out of my thoughts when she entered the kitchen. Her walking had gradually changed in to wobbling, penguin style, she was almost five months along now, the twins were due half march.

"Nadira, it's almost Thanksgiving, now we usually don't celebrate, but if you wanted to, we could" she plopped down in a chair in front of me.

"That's ok, Leah, we didn't celebrate when I was little either, so I really don't have a need to. Besides, I think Nessie invited me to spend it at her house, the Cullen's are celebrating of course, Alice wouldn't let any excuse to throw a party pass her by" I imagined her running through their big house, bossing everybody around and a smile crept over my face.

"Right, because that would be horrible" Leah said sarcastically.

"I am looking forward to Christmas though, we didn't celebrate that either, but since it seems to be a family holiday and we count as one now, I would like that!" as a child I had always been jealous of all the children that would, not because of the presents, but because in my mind it was the perfect holiday. Even a bit dysfunctional families would be happy, gathered together around a beautiful tree filled with lights and sparkly things.

"Yes, our first Christmas together, as a family" she said on a wistful tone and she started tearing up "oh, these damned hormones!" she was furiously whipping her face with a tissue.

Over the last few months she would start crying over everything, not that I was complaining, it could be a lot worse, she could get mad over everything, but thus far that hadn't happened yet. I crossed my fingers under the table, afraid I might jinx it by only thinking about it.

This week she would find out the sex of the babies, we had talked about it a lot, and even though Tom initially didn't want to know, the decision to find out seemed more practical, especially with twins. Or so we had led Tom to believe, in all honesty, we were just dying to know, just out of curiosity.

We would go this Tuesday afternoon, I was even allowed to skip my last two classes of the day to be there. They had included me in the pregnancy a lot and I loved it, even though I turned out be a big sister all along, I had never had the privilege to be around for the growing up part.

When we were finished eating, I cleared the table, after which I went to give Leah a big hug and a kiss on her cheek. I had grown to love them so much, they had given me the chance to repair myself, providing a steady surrounding in which I felt completely at home now.

"Be careful today sweetie" she called after me when we left the kitchen.

"I will!" I yelled back, the tone of both of us had been light, but I knew that she was genuinely concerned.

We were one of the first to arrive, nerves were building inside me as time passed, by the time everybody was there, I was completely stressed out. Nessie, knowing me as well as she did, saw straight through my façade.

"Don't worry Nady, things will be fine" she rubbed my arms extensively, while smiling to me reassuringly, she clearly had a gift of her own, because it actually worked.

"Well, I want to start with trying to recreate that protective bubble, at least that way I will know that you are able to protect yourself!" I knew he would never try to forbid me anything, but the bitterness dripped from his voice.

They would run at me in turns at full force, when I would try to form the bubble, we kept at it for hours. At first nothing happened, they would have to jump over me at the last second, to prevent themselves from hitting me.

Eventually I was able to put up the invisible wall around me on occasion, it seemed to be easiest when Jake or Logan would come at me. But Embry wasn't satisfied until I was able to sent each one of them flying back from impact, so when we finally left I was completely spent.

I was hardly able to stand on my own two legs, so Embry carried me home, he didn't phase, because he was afraid I would fall off his back. Since I was incapable of staying awake for even five minutes, it had been a good idea, I snuggled into his chest and never even remembered coming home.

~*~

When I woke up, I was in my own bed, alone, and when I looked out the window I saw that it had already gotten dark. Since I was still wearing all my clothes, I got up and went downstairs, where there was a heated conversation going on.

"Do you have to push her like that?! She has been completely out of it for six hours!" wow had I been asleep that long?

"She has to be prepared Leah, if she really wants to do this, she has to work hard to be able to" that was Embry, but his voice was so harsh that I barely recognized him.

"Yes I know, but it can't be healthy to put her through this on a weekly basis, she'll break down before they even get here"

"Leah, I know it's not ideal, but I'd rather have a run down Nadira now, than a dead Nadira in four months!" his words made me shiver with horror.

"Ok Embry, that's enough, I truly believe you're exaggerating, I realize you're worried, but you have to take it easier next time, she'll get there" Tom voice almost drowned out the sound of Leah's sobs, but I could still hear them.

I barged into the kitchen with such force, that I sent the door flying against the wall with a loud bang, their heads snapped to me startled with my behavior.

"Will you stop Embry!" I sounded live a school teacher reprimanding one of her students "can't you see you're upsetting Leah, saying stuff like that, that's bad for her and the babies!" a guilty look swept across his face.

"As for the two of you" I directed my scolding toward my second parents "don't you think Embry feels bad for pushing me like this? The only reason he does it, is because he would feel a whole lot worse if he didn't and I got hurt instead"

"Shall we leave it up to me, to decide what I can or can't handle?" when I finished I sounded a lot calmer. I looked around waiting for a response, but it never came, they were still gaping at me.

Well, never mind then, on to the second part of the evening, changing the subject almost as abruptly, as I had started the conversation, I rubbed over my rumbling stomach.

"So, is there something to eat around here? I feel like I haven't eaten for a week!" at that they all started laughing, Leah put some food onto a plate and set it on the table.

"Bon appétit!" Leah said, with that the tension was broken and everybody relaxed again. Embry stood next to me, ogling my food.

"Uhm, Leah, do you have fome mowe?" I asked with a fool mouth "I fink Embwy if a bit hunwy too!"

~*~

Weeks passed, as we settled into our new routine, including the weekend training sessions. Which resulted is us being exhausted every Friday and Saturday nights, neither of us was able to truly enjoy our time together. So when training was cancelled for Thanksgiving weekend, we were happy with the diversion, at the party everybody tried to shut out our dire situation as best they could.

We danced, laughed, talked and had a reasonable amount of fun, given the circumstances we were in. But nobody could deny that there was a certain tension hanging in the background, waiting for one of us to slip up.

By the time Christmas came, we had booked considerable success, with both the pack training as my own. The bubble was now a piece of cake, I could generate one without much effort at all, keeping one up was slightly harder, but still easy manageable.

Controlling the blue beams, Nessie had started calling them my laser beams although we weren't actually sure what they were exactly, but it looked like blue fire, was presenting greater difficulty, than creating or even holding the bubble.

Up until now there were no other gifts drifting to the surface, or at least not ones that I could use during the battle, sometimes I thought I heard Embry, even if he wasn't speaking. Most of what I heard were very strong and explicit thoughts, like when he was upset, but I hadn't confirmed any of those.

My dreams were getting weird too, past, present and what I thought to be the future were mixed together, but thus far I had never been able to actually see something before it happened. So I would wait, see if these dreams and voices were merely a figment of my imagination, or if there was some truth in them, before sharing it with anyone.

~*~

Somewhere in December, Fathiya joined our training no longer as an observant, she had experienced one of her gifts at school during gym class. A basketball headed straight for her and she put her hands in front of her face protectively, but the ball never reached her, she had blocked it with a bubble of her own.

She took to her gifts much lighter than I ever could, embracing every challenge with a smile on her face and the atmosphere during training became much more enjoyable. She would joke around, make me feel better, making it a fun job, instead of a heavy responsibility.

I was so grateful to be no longer being the only one, we progressed much quicker now, she learned so fast, that she had caught up to me in no time. We were able to relax more, let down our guard a bit, now that there were two of us.

She would draw figures of bad guys on trees, so we could aim our fire at them, leaving a large black mark where the drawings had been.

"Nadira, did you get your mob boss?" she asked me, pointing at the tree at the same distance as mine had been a moment ago.

"Was that supposed to be a mob boss?! You can't draw at all, I thought that was a cowboy or something!" laughter overtook me "Fathiya, why does he have a hat like that?!" I hiccupped.

"What hat? There was no hat! There was only his beautiful, shiny Italian hair, you do know they're all Italian right?!" she countered meanwhile giggling herself.

"Fathiya, are you trying to tell me something, you better inform Taylan of your obsession with hot Italian mobsters!" I clutched my belly that had tightened to much due to my uncontrollable laughing.

"I'm not obsessed" she shrieked "well not much anyway, are you telling me that you don't think Al Capone had a little something something going on?!" running her hand purposely through her hair.

"Al Capone!? Are you kidding me, Taylan you better get over her fast, before she leaves you for little Al!" Taylan and Embry had now gotten closer, looking at us as if we had lost our minds.

"One day, I'm gonna discover who you have a fantasy crush on, than you'll have it, I'm not gonna be gentle then!" she warned me "but did you get him or not?" she asked again.

"Ooh yeah, I got the little mobster, see how lucky you are" looking at the image on her tree, still intact, that did not look like a mob boss at all, and I was barely able to hold in my snickering.

But when she aimed, she hit her target dead on, earning a big applause from our audience.

"You're not laughing so hard now are you" smirking as she turned to me.

"Rematch" we would make this a little more interesting "if I win, I choose the outfit you're wearing to school next Monday, you win and you get to choose mine"

"You're so on!" she smiled wickedly. Embry and Taylan were somehow unwilling to leave our sides, so they made Logan draw the pictures.

"He's even worse at it that me!" she whispered in my ear, but even so, everybody but Logan heard and laughed at her remark.

"Yeah, and that's saying something" I whispered back, which released another laugh salvo and earned me an playful elbow in the stomach.

"You're evil" she said to me.

"I don't know what you're talking about Fa" turning to Logan "those are looking good Logan!"

"That, right there! I swear, one day you'll find out, that payback is a bitch!" she tried to keep a straight face, but she was unable to deliver the message seriously.

"Yeah yeah yeah, quit yapping little sis and get to it!" Fathiya and I had developed some sort of psychic link, through which we could communicate, so we counted down together mentally.

The blue light shot out of our hands simultaneously, hitting the targets Logan had drawn for us. Our wolves ruled it a tie, mostly to keep us from repeating this thing we did, over and again, cause they knew we would.

Our pretend arguments would go on and on like that, laughing, teasing, driving everybody around us insane. We didn't care though, everything was good, as long as we had fun and that we did.

~*~

My first Christmas was absolutely great, one day everybody would spend with their own family, which included Embry for us, and on the other the whole pack family and the Cullen's came together at the Cullen house, theirs was the only house big enough to hold so many people.

On the day we celebrated among ourselves, we had taken pictures, played funny games and enjoyed a wonderful meal together, which Leah and me had prepared together. Even Embry seemed to be able to relax, even if it was for one night, he held me close and whispered sweet things in my ear all through the night.

There had been gifts involved, but what made it special were the people I had enjoyed these moments with, the people I belonged with, in so many ways. Leah knew what a Christmas tree meant to me, so she had made Tom and Embry put up a giant one in the living room and we had all decorated it together, it was completely filled with lights, glass balls and figurines, at night Leah had added Christmas chocolates.

When we lay in bed that night, I cried happy tears, at first I freaked Embry out by starting to cry out of nowhere, but when I explained he just held me and told me how much I deserved it, how much I deserved to be happy.

The next day was chaotic, but in no way les happy than the first, everybody being together live that was rare these days, according to the first pack members it had been different once, but it was harder to organize stuff like that, now that the pack had grown so large. Adding imprints and children, it was almost undoable, which made it so much fun for Alice.

Everybody was talking, laughing and above all, there was a lot of eating involved, well for all except the Cullen's, they had eaten their own meal hours before. Looking back on it, we had been able to enjoy a beautiful and happy Christmas.

During Christmas break, Embry and I had spent every free minute he had together, since I didn't have any school, he could stay over every night. We had grown very close in certain ways, counting on each other in a way most young couples didn't need to.

We held each other tight every night, kissing and caressing each other for hours, not knowing how to express our love better than that. Unable to speak about what was occupying our minds, trying to enjoy our time together as best we could.

At new Years there was another huge party, it was perfect, I felt whole, being with my family and Embry, my sister was now in every way truly part of me, Nessie the best friend a girl could wish for, everything I had never had and always wanted.

Embry and I danced together, he held me close as I did him, my head was buried in his chest, while he found his place in my hair, he gently swayed me to the music and I forgot anybody else was even there.

When it was twelve o 'clock we looked deep in to each other eyes, before we kissed each other, after that we went around whishing everybody a happy new year. On the inside I was wishing, that it really would be a good year.

~*~

These days Embry and I spent even less time together, with the pack training more and me being simply too tired to attend, I would use that time to study or sleep, since that seemed to be all I was doing lately.

"Nadira, I missed you this week" Embry sighed, he had finished training and crept into bed with me, forming his body around mine as he lied down behind me.

"I missed you too Embry" and wasn't that the truth, every day I didn't see him it hurt physically, despite everything we were facing, our love remained strong and I cherished every minute I could be close to him.

"You have no idea how good it feels to hold you close like this. I love you so much Nady, words can't even describe it" his hot breath caressing my ear as he whispered the words, sending shivers running along my spine.

"I love you too Em, more than you'll ever know" I said just before reaching his lips.

This kiss held no urgency, it was sweet and slow, my hands stroked his back gently, letting my fingers run over the smooth skin, that was stretched out over his hard muscles. His hands were entwined in my hair, he loved my hair, and it was always the first thing he reached for whenever we kissed.

Moving in synch, exploring each other's mouths, our tongues dancing together, never getting enough from each other. He kissed my neck and the sensitive spot behind my ears, and my whole body tensed when he did. At some point his lips settled just above my collar bone, and sucked the skin gently but forcefully, leaving a mark there.

I urged him to flip over so I could apply the same technique on his skin, but when I did, nothing happened, it didn't eve turn pink at all, he chuckled in my ear.

"Wolf skin baby! Unless you have vampire teeth, you won't be able to leave any kind of mark on my neck!"

"Well, I'm glad I don't have those, if you don't mind" I whispered in his ear, before biting his earlobe playfully, he moaned and pulled me back to his mouth.

Our lips found a steady soothing rhythm, we both needed the comfort right now, the kiss was broken up in separate individual kisses. We would pull back just a little in between, softly pulling each other's lips every time we did.

Giving it to our slow pace completely, I took my time exploring his body, placing kisses on his mouth, nose, over his cheeks up to his temples and back down to his jaw line. Then I dropped down to his neck, behind his ears, putting my tongue on his skin before sucking it gently, he tensed and groaned loudly beneath me.

The noises he made, gave me the courage to proceed, further south to his collarbone, running my nose from the crook of his neck to left pectoral, placing my lips to the hot skin inches above his nipple, he sucked in air sharply and flipped us over again.

Now he seemed to think it was his turn, I closed my eyes in anticipation, he copied my actions and when he reached my ear, he sucked my earlobe into his mouth gently, a loud moaned into his shoulder and unconsciously bit down on it, hard, as my stomach clenched.

It was 4 in the morning and we would be so tired tomorrow if we kept this up, but neither of us was ready to let go just yet, so we didn't.

* * *

**AN: **So they're happy now, despite everything that is going on! Enjoy it while it lasts, cause there's some drama coming up next chapter, it won't be all sad though. Also Leah is getting close to her due date, I'm excited, how about you!


	19. Engaged

**Disclaimer: **Twilight is all Stephanie Meyer, I own nothing.

**AN:** Here's another chapter for you all! Thank you all for reviews, I love, love, love reading them!!!

Also, I'm gonna show you little bits of the other OC's that are in my mind, so you can get to know them a little bit. One of them is coming by this chapter, one I would like to explore further, I think that story would be a funny one. But throughout the story there will be more, a few names that are already on my profile page. Hmm, we'll see, I'll let you make up your own mind!

* * *

Engaged

~*~

POV: Nadira

~*~

Fathiya's birthday came and went, it had been so weird for me to attend my sisters 17th birthday party, while realizing I didn't know or completely saw her as my sister yet. We had become close over the last two months, but more like good friends than sisters, well that didn't strike me as concerning, we had never even spent one week in the same house or something, how we were supposed to make up for not growing up together.

Her parents and Romy were extremely welcoming, they did everything they could to make me feel like a part of their family. It was also good to see that Taylan and Logan were completely accepted into the lives of their daughters.

All the family stuff going on made me think of Leah and Tom, about a month to go before they would welcome their babies into the world. When they went to get a sonogram at five months, I got to see the babies for the first time, it was unbelievable that it was actually possible to see babies when they weren't even born yet.

There were quite e few twins in the pack, there were the oldest Ryan and Sean, next were Taylan and Logan, than there were the Uley twins Rafi and Levi. They had at least one thing in common, all of them were male, there were no female twins part of the pack family. Leah being Leah, had to break tradition of course, we found out that day, that she was carrying a boy and a girl.

No longer scared of being different, Leah was thrilled with the thought of a son and a daughter at once, she had been waiting so long, this was just more icing on the cake. By now the new excitement of being pregnant had faded a bit, she was huge, I know it's not nice to call it that, but she really was and she knew it.

She kept whining, why the babies wouldn't come out yet, she was eight months along now and it was very common for twins to be arriving ahead of schedule.

"To-om! Can't you do something!?" when I came down Leah was going at it again, poor Tom.

"What do you want me to do honey, tell me, anything at all, I'll do it, if it helps" he said with a desperate look on his face, imprinting was biting him in the butt now.

"I don't know, I just want them out!" she yelled exasperated.

"If they're ready, they'll come Leah, you don't want them to come out when they're not ready do you?" I decided to help Tom out a bit "they would have to stay at the hospital, maybe even in an incubator" making a horrified face.

"Of course, you're right Nadira" she patted her enormous belly "stay in there as long as you want, mommy can wait a while longer" she was so easily persuaded, when the wellbeing of her children was thrown into the mix. I did my best to stifle a laugh, from beyond irritated to extremely patient, within seconds, only pregnant women can do that, Tom mouthed a silent 'thank you' and I replied it with a smile.

Things were going well for the family Istaqa, training was also coming along very nicely. Fathiya and I were getting used to our gifts, the mental link was getting stronger, we could even communicate over distances now.

Carlisle had also done some tests, not necessarily to see if we were sisters, but more curious if he could find any altercations to our genetic makeup. In the process he confirmed our blood relation and the fact that we had a special gene of some sorts. He also examined the remnants of a tree, that was almost completely destroyed by our blue light, which led him to the conclusion that it was in fact fire that we produced.

One day we had the idea to joke a bit with our guys, the way they so often did with us, so we thought up a bit of a practical joke. We had thought it would be funny, to call over Embry and Taylan in panic, as if there were something very wrong and when they would get close, we would send them flying off using a bubble, it would have been stupid even if it had worked.

We stood clasping our hands together, creating a physical link, trying to create a bigger bubble. But when the bubble had become so massive, that we sent everybody flying backwards, even the two girls watching and everything else within a 50 yard radius, with all the consequences it came with it.

Everybody had at least a few minor injuries caused by the incredible force of impact, but Romy, being the only regular human there, suffered the worst. Fathiya and I were able to heal her within minutes, but that had been the most agonizingly long minutes of my entire life, she lie beneath our hands, writhing and screaming in pain until she passed out.

Everybody else was able to heal on their own, so in the end everybody was physically ok, but the damage had been done. Nothing would be the same again after that day, to think that we had done an enormous amount of damage with our protective powers, unintentionally hurting everybody even our wolves. Fathiya and I were consumed by guilt, and we refused anyone being there or training with us, from that point on it was just the two of us.

That day, the idea crossed my mind for the first time, looking at Fathiya, knowing that she had seen my thought the moment it had entered my brain, she agreed. So we started planning, adding classes to our regular schedule, doing extra course work for extra credits, to be able to graduate early.

We were ahead already, we were both easy learners and we loved learning about all sorts of stuff, so we had already acquired a lot of extra credits, not realizing at the time how much we would need them.

We would be graduating this year, instead of the next, but besides us, no one was aware of our intentions. Fathiya saw it as a precaution, but I knew it would turn out to be much more than that, it would become a necessity, and I would wait until she came to that conclusion on her own.

~*~

Fathiya and me were unable to bring back the harmless teasing into our training sessions, things relaxed a bit after a while, since we had no others around to worry about, forcing ourselves to think of it as our obligation. Working as hard as we could, determined to reach our goal, so we pushed and prodded at each other relentlessly.

So eventually we had progressed to the point of controlling our powers so well, that we wanted to test their effect on vampires, we had agreed with Jake that as soon as the occasion presented itself we would try.

Embry and Taylan were reluctant, but glad that we would be together on this, so we waited for a vampire to cross our lands, so we could use him as a guinea pig. The idea seemed wrong to me on a certain level, but without preliminary tests, we would be flying blind.

We didn't have to wait very long, a Thursday evening mid February, Jake called me, so I let her know it was time. When we arrived, there was a vampire closed in by five wolves and Jake standing by in human form.

"Well, I would say, go ahead, do your damage" he said lightly, but we all were aware of the magnitude of what would happen next. We joined minds and directed the palms of our hands towards the vampire, counting down in our heads, so we would strike at the exact same moment.

The results were astonishing and extremely gratifying, the leech caught flame like he had been drenched in an accelerant of some sorts and within moments he was no more than a pile of blue glowing ashes. This meant that we would be able to be of use during the fight, finally the first truly good thing that came out of this whole mess.

The wolves retreated into the bushes and five big Quileute's emerged, Seth, Quil, Embry, Taylan, Logan, were all grinning widely.

"You two are going to come in handy!" Jacob was the one who spoke, but they were all thinking it. Embry walked over to me, glowing with pride.

"You were totally awesome!" he whispered in my ear. It warmed my heart, that despite the fact that he didn't like the idea of me engaging any vampires at all, he was honestly proud that I could do this, things relaxed between us considerably after that.

~*~

Back at school, Fathiya were checking to see how much still had to be done, to reach our goal of graduating a year early. Now that our training was less of a priority, we were focusing on schoolwork, it was looking like we would actually get it done.

Fathiya kept on saying, that it would be nice to be done with school, so that in the slight chance we would need it, we would have it. She thought I was overreacting, not wanting to have that discussion, I let it be, a part of me hoping that she was right.

We worked hard now, so that we wouldn't have to in a few months, according to Alice, they would be here at the end of April. Her visions were getting clearer, not about the fight itself of course, she could hardly see it at all, with all the vampires involved.

The time the pack used for training, we would use for school, school and school. Everybody thought we had gone mad, not understanding why we wanted to graduate early, but supported our decision.

~*~

Friday afternoon Nessie had called, asking if we could meet tomorrow, she said that she had something important to tell me. So for once, we wouldn't train on Saturday, instead of worrying about it like I would normally, I decided to enjoy it.

So I was in a very good mood when Embry arrived at my house after working, and apparently I wasn't the only one, he clearly had been laughing over something just before he walked through the door.

"What's so funny?" I asked him, which resulted in him bursting out with laughter.

"Seth imprinted!" he howled. I didn't get it, why was that so funny? Just recently Kyle had imprinted on Sam and Emily's little Aiylen, imprinting had been more of a crying matter than.

"How's that funny?!" Imprinting was at least safe in a way, not like Aaron and Mituna, when they first phased he had a hard time hiding the fact that he had been in love with her for quite a while, now they had decided to be together anyway, ignoring the risks of imprinting.

"Nady, we saw her through Seth's mind last night during patrol, she's… a… total bitch!" he barely got out the last words between laughs, clutching his belly.

"Embry!" where was this coming from, it's so not like him to be mean.

"No, no, you don't get it, she really is terrible, even Seth thinks so!" could she really be that bad?

"He doesn't get why he imprinted on her, he is conflicted between his own logic and the feelings caused by the imprint!" oh, poor Seth, such an imprint and then his pack brothers making fun of him.

"You should help him, not make fun of him!" I said angrily.

"Baby, of course we're helping him, we didn't laugh when he was with us! I was just talking to Jake about it on the phone, right before I came in, do you think so badly of me?" if he had sounded more serious, I would have felt guilty, but he was still smiling.

"Well, ok then, tell him, if there's anything I can do to help, that he should let me know" a female's point of view came in handy sometimes.

He had met her in the grocery store the day before yesterday, totally mesmerized by her looks, he had walked up to her. But the moment he opened his mouth she had cut him off, asking him if he was sure he wanted to do that, when he nodded yes, missing her tone, she had told him in a very demeaning manner that she was totally out of his league and stalked off.

She was a new employee of the LaPush store, so he tried to get as much information as he could from the store owner, since she was a food friend of Sue's. He found out that her name was Lily, 19 years old and the owners niece from another reservation, here to work.

Before he left, he attempted to talk to her once more, but was mercilessly shot down again, before even getting out the first word, by telling him that she was not going to repeat it and that he better get it through his thick skull, that that was never going to happen.

Seth was mad and hurt at the same time, mad because well, what had he ever done to her, to deserve such a cruel treatment and hurt because she was his imprint, but wouldn't even give him the time of day. Us girls would put our heads together and see if we could think of something, some sort of ruse to get her talking to him at least.

~*~

The next morning I was getting ready for my day with Nadira under the watch of Embry, he was still sleeping when I went to the bathroom, but by the time I came out of the shower he was lying in bed awake, his eyes glued to me.

"So what are you and Nessie going to do today?"

"Honestly, I have no idea, she's gonna pick me up later, she had something to tell me" I was dying to find out.

"How much later, is later?" Embry grabbed me when I came out of my closet and flung me on the bed.

"Hmm, not for a while" I was pretending to be thinking really hard "maybe we could do something until then, like play a game?" trying to sound as seductive as I could.

"What kind of game?" Embry asked expectantly.

"Oh, I don't know, scrabble?"

"You're so mean Nady!" Embry's voice was low and soft while he spoke in my ear, making the smile disappear from my face, then he was tickling me all over and I was shrieking loudly.

~*~

At least an hour later, we made our way to the kitchen and found Tom already there.

"Finally decided to come out of your room, have we?" Tom said while making breakfast,

"We didn't wake you did we?" Leah wasn't here so she was probably still in bed, I didn't even think about the fact, that they might have been sleeping, while screaming for mercy for Embry's devilish hands.

"Of course you didn't, Leah is just tired and wanted to stay in bed, we've been awake for a few hours " it was almost twelve o 'clock, so that sounded about right.

We ate quickly, due to Tom's willingness to make breakfast for all of us, instead of just Leah. Nessie picked me up at twelve thirty, informing me that we were going to Port Angeles, shopping to be exact.

"Na-dyyyyy!" she squealed suddenly.

"Wh-what?" she startled me with her sudden outburst.

"I'm sooooo happy!" she had lost it, I swear she had gone crazy.

"Yeah ok, good…" maybe she had given herself a caffeine overdose or something.

"NO! You don't get it!" smiling so hard, I was afraid her face might burst.

"Well then, explain" it better be good.

"We're getting married!" it was a good thing I wasn't drinking or anything, cause would have choked at the very least.

"What? When? How?" words were failing me.

"Well, I asked Jake and he said yes!" she asked him?!

"You're not making this any clearer Nessie!" she ignored my freaking out.

"Oh, it was so perfect Nady, I kicked my parents out of their cottage" she smiled devilish "not before having Esmee teach me how to make his favorite dish of course and we had the most perfect night"

"Nessie, you're serious aren't you?" finally she seemed to notice my state of disbelief.

"Of course I am serious, haven't you been listening! Jake and I are getting married!"

"Aren't you a little young, isn't this a little soon?" then I'd done it, she snapped her mouth shut and averted her eyes.

"Thanks a lot" she almost whispered, before turning the car around.

"No! Ness, I'm sorry! I just didn't get it!" I'm a total bitch, I can't believe I did this.

"Wrong words Nady, wrong words" she said stopping in front of my house "I think it's best if you go now" I could tell that she really meant it, I was going to make this right, but now was not the time.

I popped my head in one last time "I'm so sorry Nady, I really am" and then I left.

Then I shut the car door, the moment it closed, she sped off. I felt horrible, I had just hurt my best friend by doubting her, when I should have been supporting her. My breathing got shallow, I stumbled towards the house, but before even opening the door, Embry was storming out.

"What?! What's wrong?!" his eyes darting around frantically to see where the danger was coming from.

"Wow, easy there mister bodyguard!" he was always able to make me laugh, no matter what. After seeing my reaction he eased up a bit.

"So, what's going on then?" he eyed me suspiciously.

"It's Nessie, no it's me really, I'm the worst friend ever!" he was laughing now and ushering me through the door.

"I'm sure it's not that bad, tell me what happened" clearly he didn't take this seriously, ugh, such a guy!

"I'm serious Embry! This isn't funny!" he tried to hide his smile, but failing miserably.

"Ok, ok, I'm listening, tell me" he sighed.

"Her and Jake are getting married, and like the fool I am, I question her, instead of congratulate her"

"Well, why did you then?" he knew already?!

"You knew didn't you? You don't think it's a bad idea?" his eyebrows scrunched together in question.

"No, I don't. Why do you think it is?" oh oh, this conversation was heading in a completely different direction.

"Uhm, I think, it's uh, a bit soon, right?" the crease on his forehead smoothed out again.

"Are you kidding me! No it's not too soon! Jake has been waiting for her for almost seven years and Nessie has mentally exceeded his maturity by a long shot! So now that she's there physically, why wait longer ?" wow, I really hadn't thought about it like that.

"Why didn't I see it like that, I thought of her as me, like she was a regular 17 years old girl! I thought I was going to have to fake congratulating her, but I'm genuinely happy for them!" haven't I mentioned how lucky I am, to have a boyfriend like mine!

"Now, you're not exactly regular, are you? But I see your point" he laughed and this time I joined him.

A loud commotion from upstairs caught our attention, when we looked up Tome came rushing down the stairs, looking as if he'd seen a ghost, that's how pale he was.

"Tom, what's going on?" I asked.

"Le-Leah is going into labor!" can we turn the volume down, I was going to lose my hearing if he kept yelling like that.

"That's usually how it works Tom, how else are the babies supposed to get here, relax you still have some time to get used to the idea" Embry was clearly not the brightest tool in the shed, making fun of him at a time like this

"No! Leah has gone into labor, the babies are coming now!" on command Embry freaked out, so he started yelling back.

"What do you mean, now?!" Embry yelled.

"What do you think I mean!?" Tom yelled back "we need to go to the hospital!"

"Now, now" Embry again. Great, now there were two!

Tom was clutching 'the bag' and walking towards the door, Embry on his heels, when they were halfway outside, I decided to speak up.

"Aren't you missing something Tom?" he started looking around him when he obviously had no idea what I was talking about

"Where's Leah, I kinda think you're gonna need her for this" I said on a matter-of-fact tone.

"Oh shit!" and he ran back upstairs again. We followed him up, hearing him apologize to Leah for forgetting her.

"Ok Tom, could you get Nady for me, I think that would be best" Leah said very calmly.

She sat up in their bed, leaning against a lot of pillows, she was calm, but it was clear that she was excited about meeting her babies.

"I'm here Leah, how are you feeling?" I sat down on the side of the bed and grabbed her hand.

"Well, good actually, Tom just flipped when I told him I had had several contractions, that's all" she laughed.

"You think they are real?" during the last two weeks there had been rumbling, but no serious contractions.

"I think so, I mean, it hasn't been like this before, they're quite regular too, about 15 minutes apart" it might be the real thing this time, but it would still be a while.

* * *

**AN: **Yay! It's baby time! Oh yeah, you didn't think Nadira was getting engaged, did you? No funny one, I don't think she's quite ready for that yet! Next chapter is mainly about Leah, as I'm sure you've guessed already, so it'll be in her pov. Hope you liked this chapter!

The end of this story is very clear to me, I've even written a part of the last chapter already, but am not sure how much chapters there will be between now and then. But no worries, I'm not done with this couple by a long shot, there will definitely be a sequel!


	20. Baby time!

**Disclaimer: **Twilight is all Stephanie Meyer, I own nothing.

**AN:** All of you who reviewed, thank you so much!

I've uploaded a chapter of what could be my second story, it's about Seth and Lily, one about Jacob and Nessie will be up soon. Please let me know what you think, I'm dying to find out!!!

So my intentions on writing about a few other characters, didn't quite work. A lot of pack members and wolf girls were going to be in the hospital, a lot of fun scenes, or at least I think they're funny. But the part prior to that kinda got away from me, before I knew it, it was getting so long, I had to turn it into another chapter. So I'll finish it soon and make that chapter 20, in Embry's pov, I know I'm deviating from my usual pattern, but I'm gonna do it anyway!

Hopefully you'll enjoy this one as it is!!!

* * *

Baby time!

~*~

POV: Leah

~*~

"Tom, I think I'm having contractions" as soon as the words left my mouth, I knew they were a big mistake. He jumped out of the bed, almost making me tumble to the ground, a second he was getting dressed in record time, my estimation put him at about 35 seconds.

He continued to fly around the room, running into the closet to grab 'the bag', hitting his head on the top shelf in the process. Cursing loudly he rushed out, only to knock straight into the dresser, it toppled over and he was holding his shin, which made him curse even more.

But the best part was that he actually ran out the room, without even looking at me again, it was a good thing that Nadira was in the hall, because otherwise he probably would have left without me.

I heard their ridiculous conversation, my husband contributing the ridiculous part, Nadira being the calm voice of reason, Embry turned out to be no use himself, he was this close to following Tom out the door.

"O baby, I'm sorry I forgot you, I don't know what I was thinking!" Tom came back into the room when Nadira had pointed out my absence to him.

"That's because you weren't" I replied.

"I'm so so sorry, really!" he was clutching my hand, covering every inch of it with small kisses.

"Ok Tom, could you get Nady for me, I think that would be best" at least she seemed to have planted her feet firmly on the ground.

"I'm here Leah, how are you feeling?" she came into the room looking very relaxed and sat down on the side of the bed.

"Well, good actually, Tom just flipped when I told him I had had several contractions, that's all" I smiled, looking at my silly husband.

"You think they are real?" I've felt some tensing in the last few weeks, so I knew exactly what she meant.

"I think so, I mean, it hasn't been like this before, they're quite regular too, about 15 minutes apart" every 15 minutes, it was something, but nowhere near enough, that's why I had stayed in bed, making myself comfortable.

"Well Tom, I think you can put away 'the bag' for now, she's not going anywhere yet" Nadira told him.

"'the bag' why are you calling it that?" I hadn't even seen Embry come in, but he sat on a chair in the corner of the room, asking questions no less "what's so special about it?"

Nadira started laughing "it's the bag with all the baby clothes and other things Leah or the baby's might need, to take to the hospital, we have gotten used to calling it 'the bag'" she explained to him.

"Now, mommy, can I get you something, maybe some food or anything?" Nadira asked me, which resulted in confused looks from the men.

"Are you sure she shouldn't go to the hospital now?" Tom asked Leah, who had now apparently turned into the expert.

"No, we aren't even sure that she actually is in the early stages of labor, if she goes to the hospital she won't be able to relax and it's gonna take a hell of a lot longer than" she said as if it were very normal that she knew that.

"Ok, so we'll stay here for now and make sure she's comfortable" Tom accepted Nadira's advice without a second thought. Come to think of it, I didn't doubt what she said either, it all sounded very logical.

Tom and Embry left the room "we'll make you a few of your favorite things" Tom said.

"Nadira, how do you know all this?" I asked her.

"I've never told you that my mother was a OB nurse, did I?" my jaw dropped.

"Well she was, she would tell me stories so often, I loved listening to those stories" she mused "I've even been around right before and after two deliveries, when she was caring for her good friend when she had her kids. Not during of course, that wasn't allowed, I was just a kid"

"As soon as you told us that you were pregnant I started reading, I mean I've forgotten a lot since the last time, so I've learned a lot in the last few months" this girl was amazing, such a kind soul, how lucky we were that it had been Nadira who had been appointed to us last year, tears formed in my eyes.

"Come here you!" I said to her while holding out my arms, she quickly nestled herself in my embrace "I love you so much, I'm so lucky with a daughter like you" I whispered in her ear.

"I love you too, very very much" she said with a broken voice. When we had both dried our tears, Embry entered the room holding a tray in his hands.

~*~

About an hour later not much had changed, we were all sitting in the bedroom Tom and I shared, talking about all sorts of things.

"How are you doing Leah?" Nadira asked me.

"Well, I don't know how to say this, but contractions really aren't that bad, maybe it's because I'm a wolf, but I've nothing to complain about really" I was almost afraid to admit it, but it was the truth.

"That's good, keep it up, they're still regular, coming every 15 minutes, you're doing great" Nadira squeezed my hand gently. I looked at her, thinking about in what shape she had been a year ago when she came to us, how she had balanced and matured, I was in absolute amazement.

The day passed, relaxed, our time spent talking, we had even come up with the names we wanted for the babies, but as far as labor went, not much happened.

"Maybe this isn't the real thing yet, I mean, nothing's happening" I said suddenly.

"I think it is Leah, you've been having regular contractions for about ten hours now, it's going slow, but it's not nothing" Nadira seemed to think for a moment "maybe you should try to get some sleep, you're gonna need your strength when things get heavier"

Being quite tired I agreed quickly, a few minutes after everyone had left the room sleep took me under.

~*~

A terrible cramping pain woke me, I didn't know what had hit me, I rolled over clutching my belly, and when I couldn't hold it in anymore I let out a whimper.

"OOOHHH" make it stop, someone make it stop, and then it did, I breathed in relieved.

I opened my eyes, when they were adjusted to the dark, Tom was snoring next to me, looking at the alarm clock, 05:48. Than my memories from the last day came back to me, the pain I had felt just now, it had been a contraction, but far worse that the ones I had yesterday.

There it was again, breathe Leah, breathe, just hold on it will be over soon, clutching my belly again, I was waiting for the pain to pass, but it seemed to take forever. When eventually it did, I realized, the contractions were not only a lot more painful, but they were lasting longer too.

I looked to my left, Tom was still snoring, but not for long, I wasn't going to sit through this alone, if I had to be awake, he would be too. I knew it was completely selfish, mean even, but that was me, I was known for my meanness, gotta live up to my name right.

"Tom, Tom wave up" his eyes shot open.

"What, what's the matter, is it now, is it time?!" I giggled at the sight of him and winced in pain, note to self, no laughing, it hurts! Tom had of course seen my pain, he was now looking at me with concern, despair and guilt across his face.

"I don't think it's time, but I was awake, so I thought you should be too" realizing how bad that sounded I looked down.

"Of course, you shouldn't suffer alone, that would be unfair" I was now searching his face for traces of sarcasm, but nothing but sincerity could be found there, it made it worse, so I tried to think of some excuse.

"Uhm, I also have to go to the bathroom, and I don't think I can manage on my own" he was at my side of the bed in a flash, helping me up. But halfway there another contraction caught me, making me collapse onto the floor, if Tom hadn't been there holding me, keeping me in his arms until it passed again.

A warm fluid trickled down my legs, was I peeing myself, I didn't feel like I was, but the fluid was there, still seeping down. When I looked I saw that I was standing in a large puddle, that was way too much, that couldn't be mine.

"Shit Leah, your water broke!" Tom yelled. Of course, that was it, my water, yes that made much more sense, hmm, why hadn't I thought of that.

"Do you still need to go to the bathroom?" I nodded. He helped me quickly, before guiding me back to the bed, forced to stop twice for a contraction.

"Nadira!" he yelled loudly, desperate for her expert opinion. Within moments, both she and Embry were in the room, just as I was focusing on another contraction. She flew to my side, when she saw me sitting in bead doubled over with pain, putting her arm around me and rubbing my back soothingly.

"Now we need to go the hospital" she stated when I relaxed again. She and Embry rushed out to get dressed, while Tom did the same in our room. He grabbed 'the bag' again and shoved it into Embry's hands when they entered the room again, fully dressed this time.

After that he put a blanket around, we waited for another contraction, so he could carry me down in between two and put me in the car. Tom had put me in the back, where Nadira crawled in beside me, Embry got behind the wheel, which put Tom in the passenger seat.

Every time the pain came, it hit me like a brick wall, sudden and forceful. Tom would look around in despair, only to see me collapse in Nadira's arms, while she was whispering soothingly in my ear and relentlessly rubbing my back.

There were hardly words, everybody had only one thing in mind, getting me to the hospital in time, and I, I could only think of pain, everything consuming pain. We got to the hospital in time, by now it was around 06:45, they got me to a room quickly, while Tom filled out the paper work.

My doctor came in and gave me a hand, I couldn't remember her name at the time, she told me she was going to see how far along I was. When she did, I almost shot up to the ceiling, AUCH! Wow, talk about invasive, that was horrible, it was worse when she told me I was dilated about 60%, I cursed under my breath.

When she left the room, I thanked Nadira for making me stay home until now, to think they would have checked my dilation every hour or so yesterday would have been a nightmare.

"Embry is gonna call everybody, how do you feel?" Tom asked when he walked through the door.

"Tom! I've only dilated 60%, it's taking forever and these contractions do hurt!" ignoring their questions and jumping straight down his throat.

"That's not so bad is it, you're more than halfway there" he uttered.

"Halfway there, are suggesting that I should just go through this pain for another nineteen hours? That's how long it took me to get here!" I was gonna hit him in the face if he said yes, readying myself as I waited for his answer.

But Nadira swooped in, rescuing him with her knowledge "it doesn't work like that, the first 10 or 20 percent take longest, the further you get, the quicker you progress. You're almost there Leah, trust me, it won't be long before you get to hold your little ones" she smiled happily at me.

I closed my eyes and tried to relax for a moment, knowing it wouldn't be long before another one would hit me, it came fast and hard, making me groan loudly. It went on like this for an hour, each one being worse than the last, consuming every bit of energy I had left inside me.

"It's too much, I can't take it anymore, they need to get out, get them out!" there had to be something they could do, cut me open or something, everything would be better than this. The last one was the worst one yet, according to Nadira it had lasted about 50 seconds, she ordered Embry to get the doctor.

"Let's see how we're doing here" she said in an overly happy manner.

"How do you think!" I snapped at her, Tom started apologizing for my behavior, I wanted to yell at him, but there was another one yet again, this couldn't go on like this.

"No worries" the woman said happily "it's a good sign, it means she's close" this time when she checked I didn't even care about anything anymore.

The pain was hitting me in waves, not giving me any time to catch my breath, before another one crashed into me. I had to do it without drugs, because we didn't know how it would affect me or the babies, now I was ready to beg them to use them anyway.

But then she spoke the magic words "you're fully dilated" she hit a button on my bed and turned to Nadira.

"Are you staying?" she asked her, Nadira hesitated.

"Please stay" I pleaded.

"I wanted to stay, but I wasn't sure if you wanted me in here, now that I know you do, nothing will be able to get me out of this room" she said with a big smile.

Two nurses entered the room, placing themselves around the foot of the bed, all smiling at me encouragingly, Tom at my left holding my hand, Nadira at my right, this was it.

"Ok Leah, I want you to push with your next contraction" the doctor told me, so I did. As hard as I could, fuck, this hurts so much, I gritted my teeth and pushed, pushed and pushed until I couldn't push anymore.

Nadira read the pain on my face and placed one of her hands on my head, the pain eased almost instantly, it didn't disappear, but it was bearable, Nadira's face contorted with pain as the next wave hit me.

"Push!" it was the only word I heard, this time something happened when I did, I could feel one of the babies move downward.

"Hold it Leah, you have to stop now" the doctor turned the baby's head "push, one more time" with much less effort than before, I was able to push the baby all the way out and the breathtaking sound of a small cry filled the room.

"It's a boy" she held up my son for me to see, while I fell back into the pillows behind me, he was so beautiful, but so very tiny. She placed him on top of my belly for a moment, while turning to Tom.

"Daddy, wanna cut the cord?" she asked Tom, he nodded and stepped forward, as soon as the umbilical cord snapped, he was placed in the arms of one of the nurses who took him to a table in the back. While I strained to get a look at my baby, the doctor caught my attention, telling me she needed one more push for the placenta to exit.

Tom was watching his son from his place by my side, conflicted by concern for the both of us, since I was granted a pause I was fine for now. I told him to go to his son, which he did after a few moments of hesitation.

A few minutes later the contractions started again, I knew they would, but the first one came so sudden it took my breath. Nadira's hand returned to my head immediately, relieving me from the sharp edges of the pain. The doctor used her hands to feel the position of the second baby, when she was satisfied she turned to me again.

"You know the drill, with the next one, push"

Everything repeated itself in the same way as it had happened before, when my girl was out, she was instantly placed on my belly, like our little boy had been, the doctor asked Tom if he wanted to cut the second cord.

"Nah, I have my hands full, maybe our daughter wants to do it" he said holding our son, smiling at Nadira.

"May I?" she asked softly, I nodded and she got up slowly, beaming with pride while she cut the cord "she's so beautiful" she whispered.

The doctor lifted her from me, so she could be checked out, both of them were doing very well and were declared healthy. Then I was being checked out and cleaned up.

I couldn't take my eyes of my family, my husband and daughter standing there, each holding one of them. Every once in a while they would look up at me smiling, it was the most beautiful sight I had ever seen.

"What are their names" one of the nurses who had followed my gaze, asked me.

"His name is Brandon Harry and hers is Kaylee Nadira" when I mentioned Kaylee's second name I heard two gasps, than hadn't been the name we had chosen for her, but I wanted it like that.

"That sounds about right to me" Tom concurred.

"Are you sure, I mean, I'm honored, but are you sure?" Nadira asked me.

"Yes, I'm very sure, I couldn't have done it without you, you were great. Besides that I love you, this way she'll always be reminded of the fact, that she has the best big sister she could ever wish for" she really was.

As soon as I was done, everybody left us and I got to hold both of my baby's, one wrapped in a pink blanket and one in a blue. I looked down on my bundles of joy, it was the best feeling in the world, finally looking at the tiny persons who had lived inside of me for nine months.

"Can I go and get Embry" Nadira asked, I replied with a "mm-hm" without looking up and she disappeared out the door, leaving Tom and me alone with our little Kaylee and Brandon, he sat down on the side of the bed.

"She did something, you know, at the end when I couldn't take it anymore" I said to him.

He nodded "yes, I saw… well I saw something, but I don't quite understand what it was" he said.

"She was lessening my pain somehow, it was better, bearable as soon as she touched my head. But Tom, I think she took some to herself, made her suffer it with me" looking at Tom, hoping for him to deny my suspicions, but he didn't.

"I'm afraid she did so too, you should have seen her face, but she never made a sound" the concern on his face, mirrored my own.

"Do you think she can do that with everyone, that would be horrible" knowing her, she would want to take away all the pain of everyone she met, if healing wasn't an option, she would use this without a second thought, hurting herself every time she did.

"It would, but there's nothing we can do about it" I shook my head sadly, but as soon as I looked at my little miracles, the sadness faded, we would talk about it another time.

Then there was a knock on the door, it opened slowly and Nadira came back in, pulling a scared looking Embry with her.

"Congratulations, the both of you" he said looking at he both of us, what was he so afraid of.

"Don't mind him, Rachel jut threatened him and he took it to heart" what had she done this time, that woman was your worst nightmare as an enemy, but the best friend to have your back. If she had threatened Embry, he would listen to it without a doubt.

"Do you want to hold one of them?" Tom asked him, he shook his head fervently.

"Oh come on you wuss!" Nadira scolded "she wasn't serious!" she laughed.

"That's not it, I know she was kidding, but I'm afraid I'll… uhm… hurt them" he confessed. Oh poor Embry! Nadira took her sister from my arm and walked towards him.

"Sit down in the chair Em, I'll show you how to hold her" he still refused.

"Embry, are you gonna be scared to hold our children?" wait what, their children, why was she bringing that up.

"You wanna have kids with me?" Embry plopped into the chair gaping at Nadira.

"Of course I do, well not now obviously, but someday yes" she smiled at him "so you need to get as much practice as you can" she had convinced him, naturally, there was no other possibility with those two.

"Here hold out your arms like mine are and remember to support her head" then she placed my little girl in his arms, his expression was worth millions.

"Meet your future sister in law, Kaylee Nadira" Tom said smiling at Embry.**

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AN:** So this was the delivery, I hurt myself while writing this, thinking back to my own way too intently. You better make it worth my while, that means review! It will make me feel good again, ensuring the next chapter to be a happy one ;) You're right, that's blackmail, I'm so mean, I can't help it!


	21. Horrible hospitals

**Disclaimer: **Twilight is all Stephanie Meyer, I own nothing.

**AN: **I've gotten some awesome reviews for last chapter, thank you so much for those!!! We've now passed the 100 mark, yay! *does happy dance*

Here's baby time part two, or horrible hospitals, as I've called it. Beware of all the names that will come flying by today, if anything is confusing, please IM me or something. Trust me when I say I don't mind, I've been confusing myself a lot while writing this chapter. Don't take this chapter to serious, it's not meant like that, but I'm not sure it's coming across as funny, so I thought I'd let you know in advance. Enjoy and don't give up!!!

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Horrible hospitals

~*~

POV: Embry

~*~

Call everybody, call everybody, that's what Tom said, ugh, I shouldn't have come with them, I should have stayed in LaPush. Real manly of you Embry, as if Tom could have driven in his state at the time, I'm sure he won't calm down until he's sure they're all happy and healthy.

Such a simple task, compared to what Leah was going through, I'll tell ya, I'm not looking for seeing Nadira like that. Ok, focus Embry, how are you going to solve this one, I groaned mentally, when I hurt my head by thinking too hard.

What am I whining about you say, well I'll tell you, have you ever met the wolfgirls, no you haven't, that's why you don't understand. You see, we wolves need a strong partner, one that can handle everything going on with the pack, vampires and all the drama.

So the women we imprint on, are not just any women, they're downright scary, yeah you heard me, scary. You think that because we are big strong wolves we can handle it right, but we can't, they handle _us_, without a doubt and in return, we worship the very ground they walk on.

It's quite when you're dealing with your own imprint, but when it comes to one of the other's, that's when it becomes tricky. Knowing that they their imprinted ones (ahum, read servants) will back them up no matter what, all the while being perfectly aware that none of us actually wants to fight one of the others, gives them a certain advantage, one they know how to use very well.

Don't get me wrong I love the women in my family, they are like sisters to me, and most of the time they are earning the love and respect we have for them. But this was a delicate situation, new baby's, new family members, they would all want to be the one closest to the little newborns.

My dilemma now was, who to call first, one of Leah's friends Camille, Tamar or Sarah, or Emily uber wolfgirl, married to the pack Alpha, or Rachel she was the scariest of them all, she needs to be, since she's married to Paul!

Then a light bulb flicked on over my head, I was gonna call Jake, he could inform the pack, they could each tell their own wives. Yes, I know, it's brilliant right, that's all part of the package babe! Ok Embry, you do realize you're talking to yourself in your mind right. Hmm, oh right, no I forgot, I'll call Jake now, before I really lose it.

"Hey Jake, it's Embry" a rustling sound came from the other side of the line.

"Shit Em, it's not even seven yet!" he yelled.

"Yeah, I know, but Leah has gone into labor, we're at the hospital in Port Angeles now"

"Wow, how is she, everything is ok right?" he was concerned about Leah of course.

"Yeah, she's ok, she's in a lot of pain, but no more than the usual amount I suppose"

"Ok, so who have you called so far?" Jake wanted that job no more than I did.

"Just you, I figured, since you're the Alpha now, you'd wanna do it yourself" trying my best to keep in my laughter.

"Oh right, that's what you figured huh! I thought you were supposed to be smart, guess we were both wrong!" I laughed loudly at his response.

"Well, at least you can phase and contact the wolves. If you howl, you the one you use when you call a meeting, they'll just step outside to phase, to see what's going on, they can tell their own imprints" still quite satisfied with my solution.

"Right and how do we reach the wolves that don't phase anymore?" oh, damn, I knew this was too good to be true.

"Ok ok, I'll call Emily and you tell the pack, that way we only have Rachel to worry about" I said.

"You say that, like it's no big deal, I'll be getting there as late as I can, just so you know" with those words he hung up the phone. Maybe I could Rachel right after, she probably wouldn't take it that bad, especially if I reminded her of the fact that Emily was not only the pack mommy but also Leah's cousin, she would accept it…right?

Here goes nothing, I called Emily and right after I hung up, I called Rachel, hoping praying that it wouldn't come up during the conversation, I can't say I wasn't relieved when it didn't.

~*~

Amazing how fast people come running when there is something going on, dying to be right in the middle of the action, in this case I can at least be sure that the wolfgirls were here for two different reasons, they actually wanted the babies that were expected, as were they genuinely concerned for one of the two actual wolf-girls that were part of the pack.

So when within 15 minutes the first of them arrived I wasn't surprised, it was nice actually, now I wouldn't be pacing the waiting room by myself. Waiting like this was horrible, I had a clear view of Leah's door, but that didn't help much since there was absolutely nothing moving.

By the time half an hour had passed, everybody except for Seth, Sue and Charlie, were there, they were away for the weekend, I had called them earlier and they would get here as soon as possible. As the waiting area filled, chaos erupted, I'm not kidding, you have never seen this many people in one waiting room. There was the small group of mothers, all reminiscing about their own pregnancy's and deliveries of course, I steered clear of that corner.

Then there was the area where all the kids were, yeah that's right, _all _the kids, the oldest ones were watching the younger ones. Leaving the wolf girls that had no other option than to theorize what it would be like to become a mother, it was the safest area, or so we thought.

That is where the wolfs had gathered, remaining fairly quiet, we stood there huddled in a corner, waiting for the waiting to be over. But it was only getting started, because Tamar grabbed Collin and stepped forward, while Collin kept urging her to wait. We were wondering what he wanted her to wait with, we didn't have to wonder long, because Tamar was getting to make an announcement.

"Everybody, Collin and I have some news!" she said, Collin obviously didn't agree with what she was doing.

"We're having a baby!" she exclaimed, looking around the area, waiting for a response. Her news caused the chaos as a wave of reactions swept across the room. Ok, it was inappropriate, but it was still good news, so most of the girls congratulated her eventually.

But not Sarah, she seemed to be having a mental breakdown, which was weird, because they were each other's best friends, she was almost yelling at Brady, looking extremely mad.

"Ok quiet please!" Sarah yelled as loud as she could, which caused a few nurses to raise their eyebrows at us.

"We didn't think it was the right time to announce it, but evidently it is" when she said the last words she was looking at Tamar "Brady and I are having a baby too!" she said smiling.

"What!?" Tamar yelled "you can't do that Sarah, you can't steel my thunder like that!" wait, what was she talking about, thunder, what thunder.

"Oh right, because you weren't steeling Leah's thunder earlier?!" Sarah was the one yelling now, then Camille joined in, looking extremely agitated.

"Both of you were wrong to tell your news now, you should have waited at least until after Leah's twins were born" she said glaring at them.

"Oh Camille, don't even try, if you were pregnant, you would have beat us to it, which means you aren't, so you're just jealous!" Tamar huffed.

"Oh no I'm not, how can you accuse me of such a horrible thing, I'm just looking out for my best friend!" she screamed back at Tamar. The three of them kept on yelling at each other, while their husbands tried to calm them down, a hopeless struggle.

Feeling a tap on my shoulder mad me turn around, fuck! Right in front of me stood two angry wolf girls, Emily and Rachel, I knew it could not have been that easy.

"Who'd you call first Embry?!" they asked in unison, behind them Kim sat next to Jared, glaring at me, great Embry, another one, well done, what now?

"Uh.. well… uhmmm" my mind was running over possible answers, but none of them were any good.

"Embry!" never had been so happy to hear her voice, my angel had come to save me.

"Sorry ladies, duty calls" I said with a big smile, hurrying over to Nadira "thank you baby, your timing is impeccable" placing a small kiss on her lips.

"Any time baby, any time" she said smiling, she cleared her throat and stood on a table.

"Everybody listen up, 20 minutes ago, Leah gave birth to a healthy boy and girl, their names are Brandon and Kaylee, the three of them are doing very good" she paused to catch her breath "as soon as they are ready for visitors someone will come and get you" she stepped down and grabbed my hand pulling me out of the waiting area.

"Where are you two going" Rachel had followed us "does he get to go in know?" she asked Nadira.

"Yes Rachel, he does" Nadira was a lot more edgy than I was used to "he is part of our family, because he is a part of me" she added fiercely, while grabbing my wais protectively, wow, go Nady!

"Well, that may be, but Embry, I'm warning you, if you hold either of those babies before I do, you will regret it!" her tone gave me goose bumps.

"Sure Rachel" Nadira said dismissively, then she pulled me with her to Leah's room. When I saw the itty bitty babies in Leah's arms I got scared, they were so fragile, what if I hurt them?

"Congratulations, the both of you" I said looking at Tom and Leah.

"Don't mind him, Rachel jut threatened him and he took it to heart" Rachel, what had she said again, oh right, I wasn't supposed to hold either of them.

"Do you want to hold one of them?" Tom asked me, I shook my head.

"Oh come on you wuss!" Nadira scolded "she wasn't serious!" she laughed.

"That's not it, I know she was kidding, but I'm afraid I'll… uhm… hurt them" they would think I had gone crazy, but I was a wolf, they had stopped phasing, it was different.

"Sit down in the chair Em, I'll show you how to hold her" I shook my head again.

"Embry, are you gonna be scared to hold our children?" our children? As in Nadira's and mine? Was that what she meant? We had never discussed this.

"You wanna have kids with me?" my legs refused to carry me, so I let myself fall into the closest chair..

"Of course I do, well not now obviously, but someday yes" she said smiling at me "so you need to get as much practice as you can" she really wanted to have my kids, with that realization my fear was pushed to the background.

"Here hold out your arms like mine are and remember to support her head" then she placed her sister in my arms, I loved down at her, she almost disappeared in my hands, that's how tiny she was.

"Meet your future sister in law, Kaylee Nadira" Tom said, they had named her after Nadira? I looked at Nady who had now taken a seat next to Leah, her eyes closed, that's when I noticed how tired she looked.

Tom followed my gaze and took Kaylee from my arms, when he whispered to me, asking me if I could take Nadira home. Something was up, why was she so exhausted, I mean tired sure, we all were, but she looked like she hadn't slept in three days.

I looked at Tom for an explanation, he just shook his head, nodding at Nady, great he wasn't going to tell me, but his actions were obvious enough to confirm that there was something weird going on, I'd find out later.

"When do you get to go home?" I asked them "if everything stays like this, we can probably go home at the end of the day"

"We'll get a ride with Jake and Nessie, so you can use the car, we'll see you at home" I told him.

"Thanks Em, for everything" he said when I lifted Nadira up into my arms, she didn't even wake up. Now that she was this close, I saw how bad she really looked, what the hell had happened to her!

I took Nadira to the waiting room, Tom came with me and told the others that the first few visitors could go in, it was not my concern how he was going to handle this, my attention was focused on the unconscious Nadira.

While everybody got close to Tom, hoping to be one of the first to get to see the twins, this was so terrible whenever everybody was huddled up together in a hospital for another birth. I promise you though, as soon as they leave it's back to being best palls again, as if nothing had ever happened.

"What is wrong with her Embry?" Nessie ignored the baby frenzy that was going on behind her and sat down next to me, she brushed a few stray hair out of Nadira's face, instantly noticing something was in fact wrong with her.

"I don't know Nessie, something happened, but I have no idea what" I looked down at her beautiful face in my arms "Nessie, can you and Jake drop us off when you leave?" I asked.

"Sure Embry, we'll leave now, I'll tell Jake" she got up and walked over to him, whispering in his ear. When both of them stood in front of me, I looked up.

"Don't you want to see the twins first?" I asked "we can wait here, she's asleep anyway" hoping that they would refuse the offer.

"Embry, we can see the babies later, when they get home later, I'm sure they'll look the same as they do now" Nessie said.

~*~

Three hours, three fucking hours! This is not normal, all the way home I was afraid she might wake up with every bump in the road, but we had been at her house for three hours now and she was still asleep.

Nessie and Jake had stayed with me, neither of us knew what was causing her inability to wake up, believe me we had tried at least a dozen times, but she wouldn't open her eyes. Nessie and Jake initially thought that I overreacted a bit, but were now very concerned as well, then the phone rang.

"Hello?" it wasn't exactly how one answered someone else's phone, but I could care less at the moment.

"Embry?" it was Tom.

"Yeah, it's me" I replied.

"How is Nadira doing?" see, they knew what was going on, his wife had just delivered twins a few hours ago and he was calling home to see how his 'tired' daughter was doing.

"Not good Tom, she won't wake up, are you gonna tell me what happened, or do I have to guess?!" Jake and Nessie both looked up at the mentioning of Nadira, Nessie grabbed the phone from the kitchen so she and Jake could listen too.

"It's worse than I thought" Tom sighed deeply.

"What's worse Tom, could you be a bit more specific!" I yelled into the phone.

"Embry listen, we don't understand it exactly ourselves, but during the delivery it seemed like Nadira was transferring pain from Leah to herself. You should have seen her face, she made herself share the pain with Leah, she was in so much pain" Tom's voice broke.

"If she suffered through that amount of pain, it's no wonder she's out cold" i mused out loud.

"No, it isn't, Leah is asleep now too, the difference between them, is that Leah stayed awake for a while because of the amount of adrenaline running through her veins, Nadira collapsed within half an hour after the birth" Tom explained.

"Ok Tom, at least now I understand, we'll let you know if she wakes up, otherwise we'll see you when you get home"

"Talk to you later Embry" with that he hung up. Nessie and Jake walked back into the living room, none of us saying anything.

~*~

"Hello?" the moment I heard Nadira's voice coming from her room, I jumped up for my chair and ran upstairs.

"Nady, you're back" I breathed when I stepped foot in her room.

"I'm back, from where?" she asked me smiling. Oh that smile, how I'd missed that smile, my Nady was ok, I wrapped my arms around her, never wanting to let go.

"You have been out cold for the last five hours, you scared me baby " unable to hide the sadness in my voice.

"Five hours?" her face took on a shocked expression "why was I asleep for that long?"

"You tell me baby" Tom and Leah said something about transferring pain" I pulled away, raising my eyebrows waiting for her explanation.

"Oh that, I had forgotten about that for a moment" she sighed deep, then there was a knock on the door, Nessie and Jake entered the room, Nessie flew at Nadira seizing her in a big hug.

"Oh Nady, I'm so relieved that you're ok!" she exclaimed.

"Nessie, what are you doing here, you're supposed to be mad at me!" Nady grabbed Nessie and the two of them stayed like that for a minute, then Nadira started rambling.

"Nessie, I'm so sorry for what I said yesterday, I'm a horrible friend! I am so happy for you guys, you deserve it, congratulations, it really is great that you two are getting married!" Nady said while holding on to her friend.

"Don't worry about it Nady, I get how it's different for you than it is for me, you don't have to say that for me, even though it's very sweet of you to try" Nessie replied.

"No you're right, it is different for you that it is for me, that's exactly why I am genuinely happy for you" no they were both crying into each other's arms. I was happy that they had made up, but I have to admit, Nadira's words stung, Jake saw my pain and squeezed my shoulder.

Then we all turned to Nadira, as her stomach started complaining loudly, she clutched her belly, giving us an apologizing look. We all laughed and quickly decided to go downstairs to get something to eat, Nadira had a taste for garlic chicken, so she decided to make enough for all of us.

We were still in the kitchen, when Tom and Leah came home, Seth was with them. Tom was carrying two car chairs, Leah following while holding on to Seth for support. A moment later Leah sat down on the couch looking at the twins who were still sleeping.

Nessie and Nadira quickly pushed Seth back into the hallway, probably overflowing him with advice about how to reach the heart of his imprint and every detail of how to date, Seth left the house not a minute later.

"What did you say to him?" I whispered into Nadira's ear when she sat down on my lap.

"Nothing, he's just overreacting!" she huffed, which made me laugh.

Nessie was now holding Brandon, she walked over to Jake, so he could get a better look at him. They stood so close together, looking like a perfect little family, I felt a pang of jealousy at the thought that they were getting married soon.

"Nadira, are you going to talk about what happened this morning?" Leah's question was very sudden.

"You're all here so I might as well" Nadira said, she breathed in slowly and then it finally came out.

"Leah was in so much pain and I felt terrible about it, so I figured why not try. I knew it wasn't something I could heal, I mean, the babies had to be born, so I placed my hand on her head and wished that her pain would go away. At the same time I saw that is was working I felt the pain course through my body, so I had a choice, let her suffer alone or take part of her pain and suffer with her"

"Oh baby, you shouldn't have done that, it's not fair for you to go through that amount of pain!" Leah almost started crying.

"Will you promise never to do that again!" Tom said sternly.

Nadira shook her head "that's something I can't do, I'm sorry" she closed her eyes before speaking again "I don't regret doing it for Leah, so I can't promise never to do it again, cause that would mean lying to you and that's something I don't want to do" she looked at Tom and Leah, hoping that they understood.

A little while later Jake and Nessie left and Tom and Leah went to bed, for now they would keep the baby cribs in their room, as soon as they would sleep through the night, they would move into their own room.

Nady and I lied in her bed, her confession from earlier fresh in her mind, I understood what she was talking about, if I could do something like that for her, I'd do it without a second thought. I loved her so much, she had already fallen asleep her head on my chest, this felt so good having her close, I stroked her curls all the way down her back until I fell asleep.

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**AN:** About the hospital part, I have no idea how procedure is in the U.S.A. so it is very possible that it's all wrong, maybe you could overlook that? :)


	22. Getting educated

**Disclaimer: **Twilight is all Stephanie Meyer, I own nothing.

**AN: **I've been getting a lot of positive feedback over the last two chapters, thanks for the support! It means a lot to me ;)

Nadira is moving into a different phase, so naturally the story follows. It's the reason i decided to change the rating, as I'm sure you've noticed. This story does not include actual lemons, as you might suspect after reading this chapter, there might be some ahead. Now I'm not gonna turn this in a lemon filled story, that's just not fitting. So if you're uncomfortable with them, don't be too concerned, there will be only be a few parts for you to skip.

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Getting educated

~*~

POV: Nadira

~*~

The twins are almost a month old and they're so adorable, so cute and their smell, it's so special, if you've ever smelled a newborn baby, you know exactly what I'm talking about! Leah is such a great mom, tending to their needs like she has been doing it for years, they're such happy babies.

Both Tom and Leah are very happy that none of the wolves imprinted on their little girl, they've waited so long for their chance to raise little ones. The idea of sharing them, is not something they were looking forward too, but all of the wolves have seen her, so they're in the clear/

During the day everything is just peachy, the night however is an entirely different matter, like clockwork each of them wakes up every four hours. So the first one wakes up, who will in turn will wake up the other by crying excessively, two hours later it's the other one's turn, so we end up with two crying babies every two hours.

According to books and other information, it's not that unusual, it's a phase and it will pass, I just hope it will be sooner, rather than later. As much as I love them, I'm getting pretty exhausted. Today I'm going to ask my parents, since the twins have been born I've been really seeing them as my parents, if I can stay over at Embry's during the weekends.

So I'm mustering up all the courage I can find, it's Friday, I've been putting it off all week, but today it has to be done. All the way down to the kitchen, I have to focus on everything I'm doing, breathing deliberately, placing one foot in front of the other consciously as I walk.

"Morning Nady" an extremely sleepy Leah greets me.

"Morning Leah, were you able to get more sleep last night?" I know the answer, but it feels better to express my concern.

"Unfortunately not, Brandon has extremely fussy the last couple of days" yeah I know!

"Yeah, about that, I was wondering, could I stay over at Embry's during the weekends, instead of him sleeping here?" please say yes, please say yes, I need some sleep!

"They've been keeping you up haven't they?" she says compassionately.

"Yeah, pretty much and even though I would love to help out, I've got school and training to think about. I feel really bad about it, but I could really use a few nights to rest every week" I did feel bad about it, I would leave them to deal with it alone, but they wouldn't let me help at night anyways.

"You shouldn't feel bad about it Nady, you have so much on your plate as it is already, I think it's a good idea" a good idea?

"Not to push my luck or anything, but who are you and what have you done with my mother?" I laughed.

"Are you so surprised Nady? You're not the same girl who arrived last year, you've grown into a stabile young woman, I trust your judgment and your decisions. You and Embry are doing so well, I could understand it if you would want to move your relationship on to the next level" she explained.

"Thank you so much for having faith in me" I gave her a big hug "you're the best" I smiled.

"She is isn't she" Tom said as he came into the kitchen "so why is that according to you?" the question was directed at me.

"Leah said I could spend the night at Embry's during the weekends" I said carefully.

"Oh no you're not!" his voice grew loud "Leah, I can't read Embry's mind and we're not able to hear them if they're not here!" wow, this really was an issue for him.

"Tom, if she really wanted to do that, she would find a way don't you think, she has already spend so many evenings at their house! Besides, if she thinks she's ready for that, who are we to say otherwise?" Leah asked him.

"Her parents, that's who!" Tom was really upset now.

"Tom, this is Nadira we're talking about, she has to be the most responsible 17 year old I've ever met. Have you forgotten how she took the lead when I was in labor, how she suffered through the pain of giving birth, how is that ok, but having sec isn't" Tom and I both turned red at her remark.

"Stop please, Tom I just wanna have a few good night's of sleep, I'm not… we're not…" I didn't finish, but I'm sure he got the point. Tom sighed deeply, being Tom, that was a sign of accepting defeat.

"Leah has a point, so even if I don't like it, I guess you can stay the night at Embry's" his face still showed traces of discontent, but I let it be, even though he had nothing to worry about, I wasn't planning on having sex with Embry, right…

"Thank you Tom, I promise not to do anything stupid" that seemed to put him at ease.

"I know Nadira" he said. I looked at the clock, it was time for me to go, if I didn't want to be late.

"I have to go guys, or I'm gonna be late!" I waved goodbye and raced to school.

~*~

Right before lunch Nessie texted me, she was getting bored now that she had officially graduated, she was playing with the idea of attending college in the fall, but until then she had me to bug, when I was at school.

_Wow! Are u really sleeping at E&J tonight?_

_Yes I am, now leave me alone, I'm at school!_

Where did she get that so fast, I swear, those wolf men of ours, gossiped more than old ladies! That created a mental image, the three of them sitting around a coffee table, in the middle of the garage, sipping tea, wearing pink aprons, it looked ridiculous.

"What are you smiling about?" Fathiya asked me. When I explained it to her she started laughing.

"I would definitely want to see that!" she said.

"You're not the only one" I smiled.

"So, tonight huh?" her eyebrows went up and down meaningfully.

"Why does everybody jump to that conclusion?!" I huffed.

"Well, it's obvious you could never do anything being in the same house as two wolves, Leah may not have superhearing anymore, but I'm sure Tom does" she said.

"Did it ever occur to you, that us not doing that, might be by choice?" I said irritated.

"Well, it's not his choice, that's for certain!" she smiled.

"Wh-what, how do you know that?" would Taylan know something?

"Oh, come on Nadira, he's a guy, he loves you and he spends the night with you on a regular basis, of course he wants you!" he had never said anything, then again, he wouldn't want to push me, so he wouldn't anyway.

"Have you and Taylan, you know…?" I asked with a hushed tone.

"Yes, we have had sex, a while back actually" her too?

"But isn't that a bit soon?" I had no idea it seemed to be so normal for everybody.

"Nadira, it's different for everybody, if it's too soon for you that's ok. It's not like there is a time or age rule that says when it's right, trust your feelings, if you're ready you'll know" it was so weird to talk about this with my younger sister, but suddenly she seemed a lot older than me.

"Fathiya, were you a virgin before Taylan?" usually this was a subject I avoided, but suddenly I wanted to know everything she could tell me.

"No, I wasn't, he was though" she said calmly, she had no trouble talking about it at all, so I refused to be embarrassed.

"Ok, I feel like such a naïve little girl, I never had anybody to talk with, nobody ever told me what it would be like, what to expect, maybe that's why I've been holding off, maybe that's why I push it away" I admitted, a part of me afraid she was going to burst out laughing.

"Oh, sweetie, you need to be educated! Listen, we'll get the boys out of the house for a few hours, Romy and me will come over and I'm sure Nessie will be there, we'll talk!" she hugged me when the bell rang and we got back to class.

The rest of the day went by in a blur, I couldn't focus anymore, all I could think about was sex, never had it occupied my mind live this before. Once I was at home, I packed my stuff quickly, today was my day to cook, so I if I got started now, I would be done before Embry got here.

I actually made it, dinner was in the oven, with another ten minutes on the clock when Embry and Tom came in. Each of them lifted a baby into their arms, Embry had gotten used to handling them, no longer afraid to hurt them.

I watched him while he cooed to my sister, she was perfectly content with him and he with her. It made me think back to the day that they were born, when I had told Embry I wanted to have his children one day, he would be a wonderful father when the time came.

~*~

After dinner it got a bit awkward, my bag was already packed and ready, Embry had seen it when he had arrived earlier, though I hadn't even told him that I wanted to stay at his place. I had planned on telling him, directly after my parents had agreed to it, but everybody's reaction had kept me from doing that.

Now I was afraid he would draw the same conclusion as everybody else did, on the other hand, Nessie knew, which meant that Jacob knew, which meant that Embry knew, my guess was that Tom had wanted to talk to him, about what wasn't supposed to happen.

So, now I found myself trapped in an inner conflict, no idea how to get out, should I ask, or just say 'let's go' or something? Eventually Embry solved it for me, have I told you already that he is the perfect boyfriend? I'm sure I'll repeat it again soon.

"So, ready for some undisturbed sleep?" he asked me with a smile.

"Yeah, all packed and ready to go" I replied

Nessie was already there when we arrived, letting me know that a plan was already forged and set in motion, I wondered what that entailed exactly.

"So Embry, how are you doing tonight?" Nessie asked him, she was being very weird, so this was probably part of the plan, so I played dumb and said nothing.

"Uh, I'm fine, why?" of course he was suspicious, she was being so obvious, it had to be clear to him that something was up.

"Well, we wanted to have movie night, are you up for it? Jake is being difficult and wants to go shoot some pool with some of the guts, but you'll stay right?" Nessie asked him sweetly.

"I don't know Nessie, Jake likes watching movies, why would he want to go out instead?" I had no idea where she was going with this.

"Well, I have a selection over here, maybe you could take a look at it, we're not sure what we want to watch yet" we headed towards her collection as the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it!" Nessie yelled while running to the door, a moment later Romy and Fathiya walked into the living room, Embry watched them with surprise, nit even knowing the would be coming over.

"Hello Embry, we're here for the movie night, are watching with us?" Fathiya asked with a sweet voice.

"Give me a sec" he said and quickly scanned over the options Nessie had put out.

'A walk to remember', 'the notebook', 'pretty woman', 'crazy/beautiful', 'clueless', 'how to lose a guy in 10 days' and 'pride and prejudice'.

"On second thought, I think I'm going with Jake" the look on his face was hilarious, oh they were good, I had to give them that!

"Right, well, give Taylan and Logan a call, they didn't want to join us either, so weird" she added.

"Embry, Jake is upstairs getting ready" Nessie told a slightly squeamish Embry.

"Right thanks" and with that he grabbed my bag out of my hands and quickly turned to me.

"I'll just put this in my room" he said and then he ran up the stairs.

"You girls are so bad" I laughed.

"I'm betting it will take them less than five minutes to get out the door" Romy laughed, she turned out to be right, they were gone as fast their feet could carry them.

~*~

"So, who's up for some girl time!" Fathiya seemed to be jumping of the walls with excitement.

"I've got the booz, so let's get this party started!" Romy yelled, wow, who invited the crazy sisters!

"Alcohol, why would we be drinking, there's no need for that!" I sputtered a small form of protest, I've done my fair share of drinking, but it had never been to have fun, my only goal then had been to piss off the parental figures, of the family I was living with at that time.

"Oh, Nadira, you're such a goody two shoes! You're not gonna tell is anything without being a little buzzed!" Nessie joined in, so I decided to let go of my objections and just go with the flow.

"Ok, but, I'm not drinking alone! If I'm going down, you're all going down with me!" I laughed.

"Wooow! Way to go Nady!" Fathiya squealed.

It didn't take me long to feel the effects of the liquor we were working in with shots, it was very sweet, it tasted like licorice. It was very strong, so it left a burning sensation in my mouth and all the way down to my stomach, but after a few shots the burning got less.

It actually tasted good to a sweet tooth like me, I grabbed the bottle to see what it was, the label said 'Sambuca' and wow, the alcohol percentage was 40%, this was not going to end well!

"So, you're the last one" Nessie suddenly blurted out.

"I had no idea until today, but apparently I am" I said looking at Romy, who nodded at me with a smile on her face.

"Well, you better listen up than!" Fathiya said on a mysterious tone, oh god, what had I gotten myself into.

"First of all, what do you know so far" Nessie said "as someone even had 'the talk' with you?"

"Not really, naturally I heard a lot of stuff , but not the good kind, it made want to close of my ears every time someone brought up the subject. I had to endure advice from social workers and people like that, mostly about safe sex, saying that I should always use a condom and they've had me on the pill for last three years now" I said.

"You're on the pill? Will you listen to our little prude!" Fathiya exclaimed.

"Whoah! Who said anything about being a prude!" I scoffed.

"She's right Faat, she just doesn't know what she's missing!" Romy howled.

"Well, I don't know what it's like for you, but I won't be doing without anymore" Nessie giggled.

Suddenly I had the feeling I was missing out, thinking back on the times we had spent in each other's arms, our contact made me feel good, but he always left me wanting more.

"I always want more, but he's the one stopping me!" I admitted, maybe Fathiya had been wrong, maybe he didn't want me, he had told me he did once, but he wasn't acting like it.

"Oh, don't worry Nady, he's just trying to protect you, the moment you make your intentions clear he won't stop you, trust me on that one" Nessie said.

"But how can you be so sure?" I asked her.

"Nadira, Jake and Embry are best friends, trust me, I know!" would Embry have told Jake something?

"Nessie, are you just guessing, or do you actually have something concrete?" I had to know what she had been implying just now.

"Ok, don't say anything to Embry, he'll know it was Jake that had been the one to say too much" she looked at me for conformation, so I nodded.

"According to Jake, Embry has very good mind control, most of the wolves who have been phasing for a few years are able to keep things to themselves, but Embry is better at it than most.

Nobody has been getting any images whatsoever, from you and him, except for one time, the first night of training, you know when I provoked you. He got worried, was scared you were going to get hurt, if you joined the fight.

So he slipped and thought about you, how he couldn't live without you, then he showed the pack unintentionally what you had been doing during the time you had spent together before the training" she said it very softly.

Thinking back to that night, that was the night I had admitted to him that I was afraid of losing him, thinking my need to be close to him, came forth out of concern. As it turned out that wasn't the case, for the first time I had experienced desire, letting him know how I felt, with my actions.

"He was enjoying himself very much when you two were together that evening, it took him an enormous amount of effort, to stop himself, convincing himself it was too soon for you, that's why he didn't let it go any further" Nessie added.

As time passed our conversation was including a lot more details, about the big 'guys' that the wolves were, practicality, positions even! But now I felt a lot more confident about Embry and me, a bit nervous about the first time though, from what the girls told me, there was definite pain involved.

By the time the guys got back, we had progressed to being drunk and extremely giggly, as soon as I saw Embry I made my way over to him.

"Ah, my man is finally home" I said while plastering myself on him, he looked at me with wide eyes, before looking at the other wobbly ladies in his living room.

"What have you done to her?" he asked my friends accusingly.

"Now, Embry, don't get upset-" Nessie started, but I didn't let her finish.

"I'm fine Embry, I just needed a few lessons and they figured a bit of alcohol would make me more receptive" judging by the look on his face, my explanation hadn't been a good one at all, he was even more confused now.

"Lessons about what exactly?" he asked me suspiciously.

"Nuh-uh, I'm not gonna tell you" I said while tapping his nose with my index finger "you'll find out soon enough anyway" tracing his mouth and jaw line when I left his nose.

"Go Nady!" the girls yelled from the living room, the other wolves seemed to be catching on, because they started laughing too, which made me blush furiously.

"Shall we go?" Taylan asked Fathiya, a big grin etched on his face.

"Yeah, it looks like the happy couple could use some privacy!" Logan added jokingly.

The girls hugged me before they left and I swear I could hear someone telling Embry he would be getting lucky tonight, my had snapped around to catch his response, but he just kept looking from one to the other, eventually his eyes stayed on me, not noticing them going out the door.

In the living room Jake and Nessie settled on the couch, I noticed that she was making him watch 'Pride and Prejudice', Jake clearly wasn't too happy about this, he thought he had escaped that dreadful faith by spending the evening out the door, but luck wasn't on his side tonight.

Jake would give her anything she wanted, he would argue the movie, because his male pride demanded that, but he would watch it with her. He was always giving into Nessie, who was currently exploring the more romantic side of their relationship, preparing for their marriage was what she called it.

Of course we hadn't spent the whole night talking about my inexperience, we had discussed Nessie's upcoming wedding to full extent. She was so excited about it, they were going to wait until she had turned '18' this September, according to the other Vampire-Human hybrids, she would be fully matured by then, so it would be appropriate.

Her wedding plans made me think about me graduating in a little over two months, my plans would have to wait until after the wedding, because there was no way I was going to miss watching my best friend taking vows, giving herself to the one she loved most.

Nessie had asked me to be her maid of honor and happily accepted, promising her and myself that I would be the best maid of honor she could ever wish for. Not that it would be very hard, with Alice planning the wedding, I just had to be there for her, even if she should change into Bridezilla!

Leaving my thoughts, I turned back to Embry, who hadn't moved an inch, he was still processing the scene that had played out itself during the last ten minutes. Suddenly I wanted nothing more than go upstairs with him, to push at our sexual boundaries, which were still very much intact.

Taking one step up the stairs before looking at him, admiring his tall form, muscles tense beneath his shirt, gazing into his eyes. There I read love, admiration and desire, exactly those things I needed to see, so I lifted my arm to him and didn't move even though he was still out of reach.

"Are you coming?" I asked him softly with a smile on my face, he swallowed visibly and nodded as he took my outstretched hand.

* * *

**AN:** See what I mean with shifting? More ahead in the next chapter!


	23. That's what you get

**Disclaimer: ********Twilight is all Stephanie Meyer, I own nothing.**

**AN: **As I mentioned, some intimacy this chapter, nothing major though. If it bothers you, I suggest you skip the first part. Also did I want to let you that I won't be including much of this in the chapters ahead. I just wanted to include some experiences from her point of view, since we've already seen so many other aspects of her life.

If you're confused about the number of chapters, I've rearranged some chapters, that's why there's less now ;)

* * *

That's what you get

~*~

POV: Nadira

~*~

Feeling much braver than usual I pulled him up the stairs, it took a lot of effort to put one foot in front of the other and stay upright at the same time. So it was a good thing that I was walking in front of Embry, it didn't really come as a surprise to him, that I failed at some point and would have tumbled down, if he hadn't been there to catch me.

"Careful now" he warned while keeping me in his arms.

"Why do I have to be careful if I have such a big strong wolf man to catch me?" I asked giggling, a smile slowly crept over his face, he was finally beginning to see the humor in my drunken state.

"How much did you drink, little one?" he laughed.

"I don't know, but I do know they let me drink the most by far, so it's probably more than enough for you to stop calling me little one!" I didn't feel so little anymore.

"Oh, is that right" he said on a daring tone and laid me down on the bed after he closed the door.

"Yeah, I'm not a little girl anymore, I'll have you know!" I grabbed a fistful of his shirt and dragged him to me, my eyes never leaving his.

"Yeah, I think I found that out today" he mumbled right before capturing my mouth with his.

He leaned down on his elbows, which were pressed down in the mattress on both sides of my head, leaving his hands to caress my face, softly stroking his way from my temple to my jaw bone. My hands were at the small of his back, gripping him firmly.

When the kisses intensified, his hands moved into my hair, softly pulling it as he went through my curls, he caught my bottom lip between his and sucked on it, sending electrical surges through my body.

We were wearing way too much clothes, so I decided his shirt would be the first to go. I started pulling it over his head, but wasn't really successful. He chuckled at my futile attempts to undress him, he relieved me from my duty by taking it of himself. Quickly after mine disappeared too. He flipped us over so I was straddling him, I enjoyed the feel of his muscles under my hands, touching every piece of smooth skin I could reach.

Quickly after that our pants become history and we were rolling around on the bed in nothing but our underwear and lots of tangled sheets. At some point he ended up on top of me, caressing my body, it felt like his hands were everywhere.

His hands moved to my back und undid my bra without me noticing, until it was already gone, that certainly wasn't the first time he had done that! His mouth left mine, moving towards my neck and eventually he dropping below my collarbone, still heading south all the way to my breasts, where he took one of my nipples in his mouth.

I gasped at the sudden warm touch of his tongue swirling around my nipple, and arched up from the mattress to meet him. The other side received similar treatments from his gentle kneading hand. The ball low in my belly was tightening, I pushed my hips up to him in search for release, a low moan escaped him.

One of his hands went from the high of my back, over my belly, until her reached my panties, quickly slipping in. His breaths cam faster, much like my own, and I knew he could hear my heart pounding in my chest, I realized this was terrifying and exhilarating at the same time.

Clearly he knew what he was doing, because he immediately went for my most sensitive spot, rubbing it gently, making my muscles clenche, moving his finger in a rhythm that send me climbing fast.

"Mmh" I moaned loudly as the pressure kept building under his touch. Reveling in the pleasure he brought me, I kept pushing myself onto his hand. He sped up some more and I felt myself falling over the edge.

He kissed me, slow intense kisses, while I was coming back down from my high. When my breathing had slowed a bit, I decided I wanted to return the favor, but honestly I had no idea how I was supposed to do that. Braver than I felt, I moved my hands to his stomach, letting one of my hands into his boxers.

"You don't have to do that Nady" he said with a husky voice.

"But I want to Embry, I want to make you feel good, will you show me?" he didn't answer and since it was very dark, I couldn't see if he nodded or shook his head, but I was sure I his head moved.

He showed me what to do, his hand guiding mine until I felt confident enough to continue on my own. I kept watching him closely, letting his reactions tell me how to proceed. At some point I felt him climax and was strangely proud of myself that I had been able to do that to him.

After that he jumped out of the bed, rummaging around in his closet for a moment, before lying down with me again, I immediately felt the change in fabric, he had put on a new pair of boxers. He pulled me against him, placing the sheets over us, stroking my hair gently, as he so often did.

"I love you Nady, so much" he said softly and he placed a kiss on my forehead.

"I love you too Embry" snuggling into him, wanting to be as close to him as possible, I was so happy now, I felt truly great, I fell asleep with a smile on my face.

~*~

OOOOH, my head, what happened to my head, I raised my hand to check if there were any injuries, but even my hand wasn't right. Actually, my whole body felt sluggish, then I remembered last night. A great night, filled with laughter and excitement, one to go down in history, but I was paying for it now.

Groggily I tried opening my eyes, but when the blinding light created a strong pain, I shut them quickly. Well, that's what you get when you reach for the bottle too much. I heard Embry chuckling from the other side of the room, if I were him I'd probably react the same. But I really needed him to stop doing that, before my head would explode.

"Please don't" I whimpered.

"Oh sweetie, you've really hurt yourself, haven't you" he said softly. He softy stroked my hair, letting his fingers gently run over my scalp, massaging the skin softly; the throbbing subsided.

"Hmm" it felt nice to be taken care of, and Embry was doing a most excellent job, I might add.

"You should take this" I peered through squinted eyes and saw him holding some aspirins and a glass of water. I took them from him, finishing off the water as I swallowed the pills, before slumping back down on the bed.

"Thanks" I mumbled. Turning over to my face into the pillow, everything hurt and my body felt sluggish, which made moving very difficult. So refrained from trying.

Embry moved his hands gently all over my back, massaging my sore muscles, letting his fingers slide between my hair, rubbing the base of my neck. He worked on my tense shoulders and back, rubbing the sore muscles. Under the warm touch of his hands I was able to relax, I sighed deeply, letting myself enjoy every second of it.

He continued until I gradually started to show more signs of life, then he flipped me over and laid down next to me. It wasn't until then that I realized I wasn't wearing anything but my panties, instantly the memories of last came rushing back to me, a blush crept over my face and I turned into Embry so I would be less exposed.

"There we are" he chuckled at the sudden return of my memory.

"Glad you think it's funny" I said into his chest.

"Oh, you were so brave last night, or was that just the alcohol?" he joked, but I could hear he was a bit concerned about it.

"Well, it helped, I would be lying if said it didn't, but I wanted to take things further and I don't regret any of it" lifting my head to place a kiss on his cheek.

"Good, that's all I needed to know" he whispered into my hair. Hmm, just lying here, his skin touching mine, was so soothing, I could stay here forever.

"What are we doing today?" I asked him, drawing unidentified shapes on his stomach and chest with the nail of my index finger.

"Well, if you keep that up, we're not gonna leave this room all day" he breathed.

"Is that right?" I continued, now adding the other four, using them to graze his skin, adding a little more pressure. I moved over his tight 8 pack, circled his nipples, brushing the waistband of his boxers.

"Nady, please stop, you're not playing fair" he pleaded.

"Oh alright then, but only because you asked so nicely" I forced myself off the bed and headed towards his bathroom. As I walked away from him, I felt his eyes on me, following me until I entered the bathroom.

I released the breath I was holding when closed the door behind me, I came in here to take a shower, so I started looking for towels hoping he kept them here. Relieved when I found them, I turned the faucet and stepped under the warm water, letting it run over me.

~*~

We were in the middle of our breakfast, although it was more like lunchtime, when Seth came stormed in through the kitchen door.

"I can't take it anymore!" he blurted out.

"Seth, calm down man, what's going on?" Embry asked while pushing him into a chair. Nessie and Jake who had been sitting in the living room came walking in, curious to see what all the ruckus was about.

"Good you're here to" Seth said to Nessie "can I borrow your ladies for a while" he said while grabbing an arm from each of us.

"Wow Seth, not so fast!" Jake said loudly while blocking the doorway.

"Yeah, could I at least finish eating before you drag me off?" I asked while taking another bite.

"Sorry, I'm just desperate" Seth sighed.

"You're not helping yourself man, what exactly do you need the girls for?" Embry asked suspiciously.

"I need help with my imprint, she's driving me fucking crazy!" Seth said exasperated.

"Right, you're gorgeous, mean ass imprint" Jake said holding a chuckle, while Embry was biting his lip to keep from laughing.

"It's not funny man!"Seth yelled angrily.

"Ok, that's it" Nessie started shoving Jake and Embry out the kitchen "get lost, you insensitive bullies!" she said sternly. They complied, planting themselves on the couch and Nessie shut the door behind them.

"Let's hear it" I said to Seth, finishing off my sandwich.

"She won't give me the time of day, none of the advice Nathan gave me is working and he's really good with women!" Seth complained.

"Nathan is good for advice if you want to get a woman into bed, not if you want to get to know her" Nessie sighed "you should have come to us sooner."

"One thing though Seth" I said "if we help you, I think you should wait until after it's over" nobody asked what I was referring to, since it was understood I was talking about my father, who would be here in two weeks.

"She's right Seth, it's only a little while longer and that way you're able to completely focus on her" Nessie chimed in.

"Yeah, I suppose you're right, you'll help me then though?" he asked.

"We promise Seth, we'll get her to talk to you" Nessie said as if she was very sure of herself, com to think of it, she probably was.

~*~

The talk with Seth had brought reality back into my mind, things had been so good lately, I hadn't been thinking about the big confrontation. Alice had seen them making the decision, they would be here in two weeks, the last weekend of April.

The pack had been training three times a week, and Fathiya and I had been studying almost nonstop, switching it off with our own training. All of us were fully aware of the fact that things could go two ways, depending on how Fathiya and I would perform during an actual fight. If we were able to target vampires quickly, the pack should be able to fight off the ones we couldn't get. Should we on the other hand freeze under the pressure, there were sure to be casualties.

Alice knew with how many they would be, and it had shocked us, right now she counted 60 vampires that were coming. But their numbers kept changing, as they fought amongst themselves and were still turning humans. They created a path of death and destruction on their way here, the Cullens were worried that the Volturi might get wind of the trail they left behind.

~*~

The weekend before was the first weekend I had spent at Embry's, I had loved it, it felt like the four of us were actually living together. Nessie and I felt really at home there and we acted like it was, knowing our men would never object to anything we did there.

It was Saturday night, training night for the pack, as well as Tuesday and Thursday. Nessie and I were no longer attending training sessions, so we decided to watch a movie. It was a romantic comedy 'The proposal,' it was hilarious, but when I laughed loudly at the scene where they run in to each other, I realized Nessie didn't join me. I paused the DVD and she didn't even noticed that it was no longer playing.

"Nessie, what's wrong?" she was usually really into this sort of movie, so it couldn't mean much good if she wasn't laughing.

"Promise you'll keep it between you and me?" she was my best friend, she didn't even need to ask.

"Of course I will Nessie" I assured her.

"I'm afraid the Volturi will come too" she said hesitantly "did you know they're curious about me?" what, she had never told me that, then again, before this whole ordeal I had never heard of them at all.

"No, why are they though?" I asked.

"There are not a lot of hybrids like me, there was a vampire who considered himself a scientist and impregnated a few women in South America. One of them, Nahuel, came here the first time they came for me, to show them I didn't pose a threat. He also has a few sisters, but there are no others as far as we know"

"I had no idea hybrids were so rare, I really don't know much about the vampire world it seems" I wondered what they would want with Nessie.

"Well, the Volturi had never seen one before me, and they are very curious to see what my capabilities are" she looked down "they want to know if I'm able to reproduce, see what sort of children would come out, if they let me mate with a vampire" how horrible!

"Oh Nessie, I'm so sorry!" I pulled her into a hug.

"Don't, I've been fearing this for a long time. Now that I'm almost fully mature it's just getting a little close" she sighed.

"I understand" I said sadly, because I did.

"It's not all though, I really wanna have children, but I'm not sure if I can have children at all. Let alone have them with a wolf!" it must be hard knowing so little about yourself, although I had a little experience with that myself.

Suddenly when I was wondering if she would be able to have children, an image flashed through my head. I saw her with a baby girl in her arms, while Jacob was romping around with their sun on the grass.

Hoping the image held the truth, I decided to tell her about it. Even if I wasn't sure yet, I knew I was supposed to develop psychic abilities, so this would better be the start of it, and not just something I was wishing for.

"It will be alright Nessie, I saw it" and I described what I saw, to have her look at me with wide eyes. I had given her hope again and that was enough for now.

"And if the stupid Volturi decide to come here, I'll help you kick their asses back to Italy!" I said loudly.

"Not if you're not here you won't" Nessie said suddenly.

"Wh-what do you mean?" I asked a little freaked out.

"Edward has read your mind Nadira, he knows you're planning to leave after my wedding, that's why you're graduating early" shit, of course he'd be able to! I should have thought of that!

"I'm sorry Nessie, but I have to" I sighed, she knew already, so I might as well tell her everything.

"No you don't, we love you Nady, think of what it'll do to Embry" she struck an accusing tone when she mentioned Embry and my heart almost broke .

"Don't you get it, that's exactly why I have to go. I love you all way too much, to risk getting hurt" I pleaded for her understanding.

"My father says he understands, he left my mom once, when she was still human. He came back though Nady, because he couldn't live without her"

"Nessie, I'm not leaving for good! I'm coming back, I just need to learn about who I am and how to control every aspect of myself. Right now I'm just a ticking time bomb! Remember I can heal, not bring people back to life. What if someone died because I suddenly developed a new power and don't have the ability to control it?!" it was selfish enough of me to stay for the wedding.

"Ok Nady, I understand, which is why we're gonna help" she said reluctantly.

"Help?" I asked puzzled.

"Yes, you might be over eighteen when you're leaving, but Fathiya is not. Besides there are a lot of countries in the Middle-East where you need visa's and such to even get over the border."

It had been something I had been concerned about, but I kept telling myself that I would work it out over the summer. Now that Nessie had said it out loud, it sounded practically impossible. All the hope I had held on to until now, dropped like brick.

"Jasper is the one who handles our paperwork, he can get you everything you need" she finally said.

"What?" I breathed, forming words suddenly seemed to be a very complex task.

"You'll receive the papers at my wedding day, that was my only demand, when dad offered to help you. I don't want you skipping town before my big day" she smiled, but it never reached her eyes.

"Who knows" I whispered.

"My parents and Alice and Jasper. Alice says you'll need to promise her that she can keep an eye on you, otherwise she won't let you go" Nessie said, but she seemed a little confused over her last statement.

"I gotta promise her? She can do it, whether I would like her to or not right?" Nessie just shrugged.

"That's what she said" with that we'd left our conversation and returned to watching the movie. But the mood had turned to drastically, neither of us were able to enjoy the rest of the movie.

When Jake and Embry returned from their training we separated for the night, without saying much. Our lack of communication caught the attention of the guys, even when things were getting tense, we always managed to lighten the mood and laugh with each other.

"What happened tonight?" Embry asked when we got to his room, Jake and Nessie would probably be having a similar conversation in the other room.

"Nothing" I said curtly. He stopped me when I headed for the bathroom, and placed his hands on my face, looking into my eyes.

"Nady, don't tell me it's nothing. I know you well enough to tell that something occurred when we were away, did you two have a fight or something?" he asked gently.

"Maybe you don't know me as well as you think you do, because there's absolutely nothing going on!" I said a little more harsh then I had intended. He dropped his hands and stared at me.

"You're hiding something from me" he said bitterly and turned away from me.

"Everybody has secrets Embry" I replied softly, before I locked myself in the bathroom. When I finally got out he was already in bed, lying with his back to the middle. I slipped in next to him, but he didn't turn around, I had hurt him. Feeling horribly guilty, I wanted to sooth the hurt I caused. So I laid down behind him and wrapped my arm around his middle, tonight we would only sleep.

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**AN:** I would be really grateful if you'd let me know what you think ;)


	24. Confrontation

**Disclaimer: Twilight is all Stephanie Meyer, I own nothing.**

**AN:** Well, here we go, the first chapter in tandem with 'Do I Have To Do Everything Myself!' This is the fic that tells Jake and Nessie's story. So if you wanna read Nessie's pov during the battle, read the chapter 'What is wrong with me?!' from that one. I'm gonna try and give you an update every Tuesday and Saturday, but I can't promise anything ;) My dance classes start again tomorrow, so those should keep me pretty busy. Of course I'm gonna try and get in as much writing time as I can! Hope you enjoy this one!!!

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Confrontation

~*~

POV: Embry

~*~

She exited the bathroom minutes after she disappeared into it, but I refused to acknowledge her presence. Even when she slid into bed and wrapped her arms around my waist, I kept still. This was the first time she was flat out lying to me, not hiding some overly self aware feelings, which she so often suffered from, but consciously lie.

As she was my imprint, lying to me would be hard for her, when I first met her she hadn't even been able to. But now she was, to top it off, she was being deliberately hurtful and mind you, she succeeded. Suspecting would be one thing, but she actually confirmed it by muttering about how everybody had secrets, such crap! Not us, not her, or so I thought, because she clearly had been keeping things from me.

Now of course my mind wouldn't stop running in overdrive, searching through my mind if there would have been things I'd missed that were pointing to whatever she could be hiding. Trying to catch some sleep tonight would be utterly futile, so I wouldn't even try. Instead I was listening to her erratic heartbeat and irregular breathing, I knew she was awake and that she was aware of my knowing.

Yet we laid there, motionless, speechless and it tore at my heart. Why wouldn't she confide in me, I was her soulmate, if she didn't share with me, who would she share with. Nessie's sudden unexplainable change in attitude towards her didn't help much either. Then it dawned on me, Nessie knew. She knew and whatever it was, it was bad enough for her to act the way she had acted tonight.

After hours of driving myself crazy with concern, suspicions, fear and anger, I felt her drift asleep. When I was certain she was completely unconscious, I turned under her arm, which was still around my middle, holding on tightly. The tension that had been there evaporated, she slept calmly, peacefully and the steady beating of her heart soothed me. Looking at her angelic face, I was finally able to relax sufficiently to let sleep take me over.

Thing weren't any less tense the next morning, the pink elephant in the room was very evident. But I couldn't bring myself to address the issue, so I kept my unanswered to myself. It seemed we weren't the only ones having problems, Jake and Nessie were also going through something. Jake sat at the table, the lack of sleep clearly visible, while Nessie was very distant towards him.

Worry grew, Nadira and Nessie were forming a united front, forcing me and Jake to stay on out the outside, unable to find our way in. That week was one of the hardest I had ever lived through. The girls stuck together, just like they had when the whole imprinting situation had taken place, on top of that, battle day was getting closer.

~*~

Friday night we were lying in bed together, Nadira was desperately trying to get some sort of physical reaction from me. But the pain was too much, I couldn't even enjoy the feeling of her mouth and hands on my skin. Just when she leaned in to kiss me again, I felt myself pull away.

"I can't take it anymore Nadira" I whined.

"Embry, please" she pleaded, while dropping her head to my shoulder.

"Nady, it hurts so damn much!" now that I had unleashed my emotions I seemed unable to stop "I can't stand you lying to me, you're scaring me" I added softer, placing a hand on her back.

"Embry, I don't…" she trailed off.

"What?" I asked her gently, imploring her to continue.

"This has nothing to do with us, I love you, there's nothing for you to worry about" as she finished she sighed deeply, not leaving her spot on my shoulder.

"Just tell me then!" I said desperately, trying to pull her up so that I could look at her.

"Not now, not yet... Embry, if you love me, please just trust me" she lifted her head as she spoke, begging me with her eyes to give in. As usual, I was unable to deny my imprint and ended up nodding my head, unwillingly submitting to her request

That night the dreams returned, this time they were more vivid, the images were very clear. Until now the they had portrayed he solitude, whereas now she was surrounded by women, including her sister Fathiya. The other women held so much resemblance to them, they had to be related.

It was as if they were looking right at me, sadness and compassion visible on their faces. As I focused on Nadira, I saw the glistening of falling tears on her face, crippled in pain I doubled over. That's when I woke up, immediately missing presence of my usual contentment. Taking in shaky breaths, I sat up and looked down at her sweet face, a small smile playing around her lips,

~*~

POV: Nadira

~*~

My heart was breaking for him, but I couldn't do it. If I told him now, that I would be leaving within months, he would lose it, using everything within his reach to persuade me to stay. Not only would that mean he wouldn't be able to focus on the upcoming fight, which he should, but chances were that he would succeed in convincing me. Because similar to the way I had just used my imprint status on him, he would be able to use his on me.

It was had been a move below the belt to manipulate him like that, but I wasn't ready to break his heart, not that I ever would be. Soon I would have to though, no matter how great my desire to stay with him. There was no questioning it, I knew it was the right decision to go back to my roots in search of myself. The day after Nessie and Jacob got married, Fathiya and I would leave, taking the first flight to Damascus, Syria.

Initially there had been a lot of obstacles I would have to overcome in order to accomplish what I had planned. There were travel arrangements, documents and there was of course the big question of where we had to go exactly. Through the internet I had found some guy who would falsify passports and documents, for an insane amount of money, which would take from Tom and Leah.

I had let go by numerous chances to swipe one of their credit cards, but I hadn't been to bring myself to actually take it. So the offer to help, from a few of the Cullen's, had been extremely welcome. Jasper was taking care of the documents, he insisted on me not traveling under my own name, though I was old enough to do so.

According to him Embry and Taylan would be coming after us, which would cause a lot of problems for everyone. Alice had been looking for other's like us, using her sight, and had located them. They were living together in a little village, hidden somewhere within the Syrian desert east of Lebanon.

The small settlement was located slightly north of Damascus, within a four hour drive from the city, so that would be the easiest way to travel. Once we would arrive at the airport, a car including driver would be waiting for us and take us to our destination.

Everything would be taken care of, but oddly enough, instead of making me feel more at ease, it created even more stress. Suddenly it wasn't some hardly feasible idea, it had become real, we would actually go through with it. Judging by the way the Cullen's did things, this would most likely play out according to plan, without hitting even the slightest hitch.

I felt the weight on my shoulders get heavier with each passing day, it would press down on me whenever I would lie to one of my loved ones. Fathiya was suffering immensely, now that everything was gradually creeping near. She was so sad about leaving Taylan and her family, though she wasn't fighting the decision anymore.

The poor girl had accidentally hurt her wolf so bad, it was so bad that she hadn't been able to stand by and wait for him to heal on his own, she had to mend him. The fact that she had refused to tell me testified to the fact that it had been serious, since then she had fully accepted what should be done.

Now everybody was preparing as best they could, for the impending that hung over our heads. Nobody would be able to predict the outcome, not that it kept me from trying. Thinking back to the legend of my ancestor and her psychic gifts, I had hoped I'd be able to get some information about what would be happening soon. But my attempts were utterly futile, and I was left with the unsatisfying feeling of the unknown.

The retired wolves hadn't phased for training, but would be standing by on Saturday. Listening for us, so Jake would be able to let them know if they were needed. Even Leah was willing to phase, though nobody knew if she would be able to. All of them were extremely restless, reluctant to leave their families.

Especially Jared was very edgy, not only had his little sister phased last winter, to now be the only female in the pack. Mituna was still inexperienced, considerably small compared to the other wolves, and yet she would be participating in the fight. He was quite angry with Jake over this, but Jake had told him they needed her and reminded him of the fact that there would be humans fighting too.

As time ticked away, Wednesday became Thursday, and Thursday had now turned into Friday. Most of us were spending our last evening with family and loved ones. All of the wolves without an imprint, or one that was still young, and were over 18, shared houses to split the costs. This evening all of those houses were empty, Jake was spending time with Nessie and her family, while having visited Billy and Rachel this afternoon.

It was more difficult for wolves who didn't have elders as parents, they weren't able to say goodbye. Embry and me where at my house, he was staying here tonight instead of me being at his place. I wanted to be close to my family, I was so afraid of all that could happen. Over the past year I had learned to love my new family including all its oddities, I was scared out of my mind that we would lose one or even more of them.

We ate quietly, none of us knew what to say, what were you supposed to say? 'So yeah… I'm gonna go into battle tomorrow, hope I'll come back.' No we all knew exactly in what kind of situation we were, so no words were needed or would ever suffice. That night, we laid in bed, clutching each other tight, not ever wanting let go. But eventually morning came and the early light from the rising sun woke us.

Nessie and Jake arrived this morning, after having said goodbye to her family. The Cullen's didn't want to leave her alone, so she would be staying at my house. I held on to Tom and Leah before it was time to go, placing a soft kiss on the heads of little Kaylee and Brandon. When I hugged Nessie I felt her wet tears on my check, she wasn't usually this emotional, I can't even imagine how she feels.

Desperately wanting to ease her pain, I opened my mouth, but closed it again when I realized words wouldn't come. So I just held her close as long as I could, before getting onto Embry's back. As I watched Nessie and Jake kiss goodbye, I felt tears stinging in my eyes, I took a deep breath to keep them from spilling over.

We got to the meeting place, not much later and we saw the Cullen's busy, setting up large a tent, big enough for at least 12 people. They had brought food and blankets for everybody to sit on. What was this, a camping trip? This didn't make any sense to me.

"We don't know exactly at what hour they will be arriving, so we made sure to be prepared for a long wait" Edward answered my thoughts.

As it turned out, we had to wait a long time, during which we talked strategy, while Fathiya and I worked on our mental link with the wolves. We had managed some time ago to create one among ourselves, but we were trying to include the pack, so we would be able to communicate with them during the fight. It was a last minute idea from Jake, it was a good one, but I couldn't help but wish someone had thought of it sooner.

We figured it would work best with one of our imprints, because we already shared such a strong bond with them. Taylan seemed the better option, because both of us were close to him, so we used him to practice our communication with, if we could manage to open a link with him, we would be linked with the entire pack. So far we were able to set up the connection, but we couldn't sustain it long enough, yet.

As it grew darker everybody was growing restless and was getting agitated. Alice kept running in and out of our camp, complaining about how she wasn't able to see anything with those dogs around. But even when she was far away enough, nothing came through, not on that subject at least.

"I don't get it, I know they're coming, why can't I see when!" Alice whined.

"You'll see them in time Alice, before arrive, they must have made the decision to do so. Whenever they do, you'll know" Edward reasoned with her, but she kept it up until eleven at night. Upon this return to us, she came bearing information.

"They'll be here at five in the morning, an hour before sunrise" she stated. Suddenly there was a buzz going around, one I didn't get at first. Until I heard someone say 'how can they help us, if they can't see?' Then it became very clear, Fathiya and I were supposed to create the advantage on our side, but our eyesight was nowhere near as good as any of theirs.

"Nadira, you need to get some sleep" Embry was hovering over me from behind me.

"Sleep? I can't go to sleep now" I said worried.

"Yes you can, the younger wolves are too, you won't be any good to us if you can't keep your eyes open" he explained calmly. How he could be so relaxed was a mystery to me, but he seemed completely at peace.

"Will you stay with me?" the idea of sleeping in the tent alone, while everybody was out here, didn't appeal to me at all.

"Sure, but I'll be in wolf form, so I can continue discussing strategies with the others" I nodded, wolf or human, it didn't matter to me, as long as he was with me.

Before entering the tent, he phased and joined me in there. We weren't the only ones, Fathiya was curled against Taylan, both of them were already asleep. As were a few other wolves, Embry laid down on his belly, his head leaning on his paws. A few pillows were scattered close by and I gathered them to create a substitute bed of some sorts. As I laid down against him, I let my head lean upon his warm fur.

Tired from all the work Fathiya and I had done today, I felt myself drift off soon. As I slept, I dreamt very weird dreams, they weren't scary, but I had to admit, it was at least unsettling.

In my dreams I saw Nessie talking to herself, but the upsetting part was, that she talked back. Literally a voice sounded from within her, I could hear it answer her, Nessie wasn't the least bit concerned she was cheerily continuing the conversation. Than Jacob appeared and he was doing the same thing, as if they didn't understood that this wasn't exactly normal. I wanted to tell them, but what would I say?

"_Nady"_ a familiar voice emerged my subconscious and brought me back to reality, Embry was leaning over me in wolf form. He was nudging me awake with his muzzle, and I had heard my sister in my head. Then my dream suddenly made sense, Nessie and Jake weren't talking to a voice, they were talking to someone who didn't need a voice to talk, but could do it with thoughts. Someone inside Nessie, which could only mean one thing and somehow I knew that it hadn't been just a dream.

"_Nady we need to go"_ Fathiya thought to me. This was the advantage to our mental link, we could control what to send and what to keep for ourselves.

"_I'm up, I'll be there in a sec"_ I thought back.

They were coming, arriving within ten minutes, it was still pitch black outside. I was on Embry's back, so I wouldn't have to watch my feet, which would have been impossible to do anyway. My nerves were building as we were taking in battle positions, I couldn't see shit, how are we expected to take down vamps if we can't see them!

"_Nadira"_ it was my sister again.

"_What is it?"_ I asked her.

"_If we are able to maintain our link with Taylan, we would be able to see them through their eyes"_ she optioned.

"_Fathiya, you are brilliant!" _my little sister ladies and gentlemen!

"_Are you ready to try?"_ she asked me.

"_Yeah, let's do it!"_ I was feeling better with the sudden discovery of Nessie's happiness, it gave me hope. As we both focused on Taylan, the world changed around us, it was still dark, but we could see clearly.

"_Hey ladies, decided to join us!"_ Taylan's voice came through loud and clear.

"_Yep, we couldn't let you have all the fun now could we"_ Fathiya joked while pulling his ear.

Then Embry and Taylan phased, to help us climb up the trees, Jake didn't want us on the ground, he wanted us hidden, taking down vamps unseen. As we did I noticed the mental link with Fathiya's imprint held strong. As we were in the right positions, hidden from view, our men went back down again, the army would be arriving soon.

Before leaving me, Embry had looked at me extremely worried and made me promise him, that if I fell down the tree, I would use my shield. The image his request created were unimaginably funny, I saw myself roll down the there and then the mountain, bouncing in an invisible ball, that was my bubble. As Fathiya and Taylan saw this image, we all howled with laughter, only moment before the battle would begin.

Fathiya and I were high up in a huge tree, holding each other's hand tightly, as we saw the first emerge from the thick forest. They came forward, but not at full speed, so we aimed at the back of their group, hoping to go unnoticeable as long as possible, while taking out the vamps that remained behind a bit. It worked! It actually worked! As we kept going, we saw at least 10 of them go up in ashes, before they had even started the attack and we just pushed on to next and the next as long as we could.

Exhaustion demanded us to stop after a while, but we had taken down at least half of them, with what energy we had left, we fought to keep open the link. 17 wolves and 8 vegetarian vampires, were now up against about 30 red eyed leeches. As it grew lighter we were able to follow some of the fighting, but it was still blurry because they were moving too fast for us to see clearly. The scale was tipped slightly to their side in numbers, but we knew what we were doing and we saw their number go down.

Suddenly I saw my father amongst the still fighting vamps and I wanted to get down, face him, let him know how much I despised him for all that he had done over the years. So I climbed down, remembering I had a shield if there was any need for it. On the ground I burned a few vamps that were already at least partially dismembered, when finally I stood in front of my father.

"Ah, Nadira, very wise of you to come forward, we can easily put an end to all this madness" he smiled his shiny white teeth at me.

"Why would I want to end it, we're winning" I stated arrogantly.

"You are a failed excuse for a daughter" he hissed "if it weren't for what you are, I would have no interest in you whatsoever" he smiled, as if what he was saying was insanely humorous.

"I know what I am, and it is exactly the reason you will have nothing to say about me" he seemed taken aback with how much I knew.

"Neither am I" Fathiya was suddenly by my side. He was happy and angry at the same time.

"Another one, you are mine as well" he asked a bit shocked.

"You are the one who impregnated my biological mother, yes. But neither of us are yours!" she said furiously. She knew exactly what he had done to my mother and me, she had every intention of making him pay. What happened next went very fast, my father lunged at Fathiya and me. Although we thought it was to seize us, the pack didn't see it that way and they were at him in an instant, ripping him to pieces. They started apologizing, but stopped as my thought reached them.

"There was no other solution, he would never accepted our decision and would have been a threat to any human he encountered" despite my immense hate for him, I couldn't help but feel sad that he had ended up this way, but there was nothing I could do about it.

~*~

POV: Embry

~*~

The fight had taken us a few hours, but eventually we held victory without any losses and only a few injured. Jake left us to report to Sam, since they were very anxiously awaiting our arrival. We returned to Nadira's house where she practically hugged Nessie to death, with an unnatural glow about her. When Jake joined us, Nadira ushered me inside, telling me they needed some time alone.

When I looked back, Jake was on his knees clutching Nessie around her waist, pressing his ear onto her belly. Looking back at Nadira, I raised my eyebrows questioningly.

"Nessie is pregnant!" Nadira beamed at me. A baby, they must be so happy!

"How did you know?" apart from letting Nessie know Jake was coming and telling her a few details about the battle, they hadn't spoken.

"I've seen it" she stated proudly.


	25. So sure

**Disclaimer: Twilight is all Stephanie Meyer, I own nothing.**

**AN:** Hya there, I want to thank everybody for leaving me all the wonderful reviews! Hearing from readers is so great, I truly love it!!!

Unfortunately, Blossoming is coming to an end, don't be too sad though, I'm working on the outline of the sequel. It's gonna be called 'Desert Flower' or 'Desert Rose' you can decide!

So in this chapter will be an intimate scene between Nadira and Embry. even though I've lost a few readers during the last chapters, I feel like the story is incomplete without some intimacy. If you're not comfortable with reading it, you can just skip it, you will be able to see it coming! It's at the end of this superbly long chapter, thought you deserved a bit extra for updating so late! Enjoy!

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So sure

~*~

POV: Nadira

~*~

"You saw?" he looked a little stupefied.

"Yes, last night in my dreams. I didn't see the baby or anything, but it's a very unusual baby, so I was able to see or hear actually through his or her talents" I explained.

"Your powers are still growing, still developing" he said raising his eyebrows.

"They are, they have been for a while, but today was the first time a vision actually came true. I've been seeing things, about me, about us, but I thought them to be dreams, as they almost always come when I sleep" I explained.

"Nadira, can you project things, like into the mind of someone else?" he asked me tentatively .

"Uhm, I don't know I've never tried, why?" there was something about the way he asked me, that made me worry.

"Well, don't take this the wrong way, but whenever we spend the night together, I dream about you" he flushed a little when he spoke, he was so cute.

"Oh really, what kind of dreams are those?" I asked smiling.

"See, that's exactly what I meant when I said not to take it the wrong way! They're not those kind of dreams, I mean I have those too of course, but not when you're with me, because-" he was rambling, he never did that, hmm?

"Just spit it out already! I'm not gonna be upset or mad or anything like that, just tell me" I urged.

"Well most of the time, I see us as a family, happy with kids and stuff like that. But sometimes, they're different, I'm not in them, you're alone in the desert, dressed like an Arabian nomad or something and you're so sad" my smile fell from my face instantly, I had planted that in his head, visions of me alone where I would be going soon?

"See, now you're worried, never mind, I'm sure they're just dreams" Embry sighed, I recovered quickly.

"Don't worry Embry, I'm ok and you're right they're probably just dreams" we were still in the hallway, but we were joining the other members of my family in the kitchen soon.

We spent the afternoon in there, it was where we were together as a family most of the time. We ate a lot, especially Embry, I know being a wolf made him hungry all the time, but it was still fascinating to watch. We told them all about the fight, they wanted to know how I felt about everything that had happened, but it was still so fresh, I needed time to process. When we were done, they went to the living room to put the twins in their playpen, as I watched them from the doorway.

Never had I been so happy to come home again, though I still didn't know exactly how I felt about the fight. The fact that there had been an actual fight was hurtful enough, how were you supposed to feel after your father had come after you, after changing into a vampire, bringing a whole army with him. The moment he saw Fathiya she had been equally valuable as me, confirming my suspicion about how he felt about me, he didn't love me at all, he just wanted my powers to use as his own.

It hurt, especially because despite the fact that I had hated him for years, a part of me still had loved him. He was gone now, so it didn't really matter anymore, if he were any other vampire the wolves would have ripped him apart before I could have even gotten close to him. They hesitated because he was my father, but the moment they had read a threat in his behavior doubt disappeared and he became a regular leech again.

If I thought about the amount of pain he had caused, leaving him alive, or however the existence of a vampire could be best described, would have been very irresponsible. His eyes had been drenched in greed as he looked at his daughters, his thirst for power was so immense, he would never have been able to let it go. Besides that were the facts that he drank human blood and that he knew about the pack, those things lessened the chances of another solution even further.

Now Leah and Tom were my only parents, it was a bit weird if you thought about the fact that they were 9 and 11 years older than me, but it felt right nonetheless. They loved me and took care of me as if I was their own and they had done so forever instead of little more than a year. I belonged with them, just like I belonged with Embry, it made the thought of leaving harder, hopefully we would be able to return soon.

Fathiya had been furious with my father, she is so unlike me with that sort of things, she is so able to express herself, always so sure of herself, whereas I am mostly looking for the problems within myself, always doubtful over what would be the right thing to do. But today everything would change, today I had let go of the past, today I would be a day of beginnings.

At that moment I knew I wanted to be with Embry, we had so little time left, fear shouldn't be my reason not to. I looked at him, while he played with played with wild strings from my hair that had lost all sense of coordination. He was the sweetest, most kind, generous man alive, who was head over heels in love with me. I had no reason to be afraid, he would be careful with me, he would love me gently, doing everything I could to prevent from hurting me.

"Emby, I want to make love with you tonight" I whispered in his ear.

"What?!" he breathed, his eyes wide in shock.

"You heard me just fine" I replied smiling as I made my way from the kitchen to the living room. As I joined my family in the living room as I glanced back at him, Embry didn't move an inch as I walked away from him, he stood nailed to the ground staring at me with his jaw dropped wide.

~*~

POV: Embry

~*~

Had she just said that? As I looked at her walking away from me, she glanced back, a wicked smile across her face. She totally had! Finally! Ok, now don't get me wrong, I love her to death and I would wait just as long, if she wanted me to. But that didn't mean I didn't want to be intimate with her, the last time for me had been before I met her, so it had been well over a year.

Besides I hadn't been lying to her when I said I had those dreams, I had them, a lot, like almost every night, actually the only times I didn't have them when whenever she was sleeping inside my arms. Now, only the thought had me at full alert, if she only knew what she did to me. Slowly I realized I was still standing in the kitchen, damn, I could kick myself!

"Hey Nady, wanna watch a movie in your room?" I asked as casual as I could muster, but I don't think it sounded casual at all.

"Sure" Nadira replied smugly.

Up in her room she closed her door with a snap and pushed me back up against it, what got into her all of a sudden?! She linked her hands in the nape of my neck and jumped up, urging me to catch her, so I did. As I turned us around, placing her against the door as I leaned into her, she wrapped her legs firmly around my hips. As good as she felt plastered against me, we were not going to have our first time in her house with her parents downstairs, she surely doesn't want to do it here either now does she?

"What ya doing?" I asked playfully, I needed playful if I intended to hold ground.

"What does it look like?" she countered innocently, while batting her eyelashes at me.

"You realize we're not going to do that here right?" just to be on the safe side.

"Well, it isn't night yet, now is it?" she laughed and slid of me, passing a very sensitive spot, it was like something had set her off.

"Nadira, uhm, may I ask what brought on this sudden urge?" she was my imprint after all, I needed to make sure she wasn't doing this for the wrong reason.

"Embry, you've been waiting for me to be ready almost a year, I wouldn't exactly call it sudden" she smiled, but what she said was so wrong.

"No Nady, you can't do that, I won't do it!" I had held out for this long, I could wait a little longer. But as she stepped closer, I was beginning to doubt myself, she was so perfect, I could barely keep myself from touching her as it was.

"My sweet sweet Embry, you worry way too much, it's not healthy you know!" she was openly laughing now.

"Well, I don't think it's my health we need to be concerned about right now" I muttered, how she could find this situation funny was beyond me.

"Oh god! You're hilarious! if I was doing it for you, don't you think I would have done it a long time ago? The fact that I am ready now, doesn't change the fact that you've been waiting, now does it?" she kissed me softly on the lips.

"Are you sure, are you really sure?" I didn't want to get my hopes up again for no good reason.

"I am sure, so sure" she said before kissing me again, more firmly this time.

"If that's the case I need to take care of something first" she flushed deeply at that.

"I already have" she said suddenly very shy.

"Huh? What do you mean?" I was planning on getting some romantic stuff from the store, you know the kind girls like a Nadira and practically every other kind liked. But I had no idea what she was talking about.

"I'm on the pill, I have been for a while" she admitted. Ooh, that's what she meant.

"Well, that's good to know, but protection wasn't what I was talking about. I wanted to go to the store first, can you meet me later at my place?" so sweet of her to think about that, but I had bought condoms when she started staying over at my house, so even if she hadn't been on the pill, we would be covered in that area.

"Uhm sure, I guess" I kissed her before I left.

"I love you little one" kissing her again, the feel of her soft lips could always make me forget everything in the world.

"I love you too Em" she sighed as she pressed her nose in the crook of my neck, I buried my face in her glorious wild hair and took in her delicious scent.

~*~

It had been three o 'clock in afternoon when I left, as I headed towards the store, there was something I needed to take care of first.

_**Dude, need the house tonight, better be gone before I get back, or I'll whoop your ass! BTW congrats on the baby :)**_

I pressed send, and the text was off to Jake, he would get the message, besides when he had his first time with Nessie he wanted me out of the house as well. On top of that, they had already spent the morning and the afternoon in bed, now it was our turn. As I walked through the store I thought about what I would need, massage oil, scented candles, rose peddles or would that be too much? Gathering everything just to be on the safe side, I walked around making sure I wouldn't forget anything.

When I arrived at my place it was empty and I found a note from Jake and Nessie, that said thanks, good luck and be careful. I chuckled out loud, those two shared everything already, already were they acting like a married couple. Talking about marriage, I wonder what would happen to the date they were currently aiming for. I didn't even know how long her pregnancy would take, Bella had reached full term within a month, guess we would have to wait and see.

I was just about finished setting up when I heard her walk up to the front door and knock.

~*~

POV: Nadira

~*~

When Embry left I started searching through my clothes instantly, I was so preoccupied that I didn't even notice Leah stepping into my room.

"Nadira!" at the sound of my name my head snapped up and I looked straight at its source.

"Leah, sorry I didn't hear you come in" I mumbled.

"That's weird, I knocked first and called for you a few times" she looked at me suspiciously.

"Yeah, guess I didn't hear, so what can I do for you?" trying to shove the thought about me and Embry all hot and sweaty in bed together, to the back of my mind so I could focus on Leah, but it was a lot harder than it seemed.

"Well, Embry left so suddenly, I wanted to see if everything was ok. But I'm assuming it is, otherwise you wouldn't be packing your bag right now" even though it was Sunday, it was agreed that I would stay home from school at least Monday, maybe even Tuesday. But I hadn't asked actual permission to sleep at Embry's tonight.

"Leah, I'm sorry for not asking you first, I just figured, since I'm not going to school tomorrow, I could you know" please, please don't make a big deal out of this tonight!

"That's fine Nadira, it's not what I'm concerned about. You would tell me if you plan on having sex with Embry don't you?" damn she was good, that woman could read me like a book!

"Uhm, well actually, I was planning on soon, but I didn't know how to bring it up, or if you would be upset" I admitted.

"Sweetie, you can talk to me about anything, even if I might get upset over it, I still want you to come to me" she said seriously.

"Well, in that case, I told Embry I wanted to… tonight" as I looked at her I saw her flinch for an instant, recovering quickly, but not fast enough.

"Ok, I won't lie, it's hard for me to imagine you all grown up like that, but I appreciate your honesty" she took that a lot better than I had expected.

"So, is there anything you want to ask?" Leah looked at me questioningly.

"The girls kinda took care of that, I hope you don't mind" honestly I felt a lot better talking about it with them than with Leah.

"You're all set then I suppose, you're still on the pill right?" she knew I was, but she just wanted to be sure, so I nodded.

"There's only one thing left for me to ask than. Are you sure you're not doing this too soon, are you positive you're ready for this?" Leah narrowed her eyes slightly as if she were implying that if I lied, she would know.

"I am sure Leah, I really, really wanna do this" I said as convincing as I could.

"Well, you better make sure Tom doesn't find out before you leave, because he won't let you go otherwise" she chuckled.

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that, _I _won't say anything" I grinned widely.

Leah helped me pack and get past Tom, he was obviously suspected something, but Leah didn't give him time to think about it. I was walking over because he had taken his car and he would be wanting to take me back, it wasn't a long walk anyway. When I walked up to his house and knocked, he was at the door in a flash, instantly taking the bag off my shoulder.

"I missed you" I said into his chest as he hugged me close.

"You're not alone in the missing department, I can assure you that" he replied above my head.

"Embry Call, did you cook?" I sniffed and walked into the kitchen.

"Make yourself comfortable in the kitchen, I'll just put your bag upstairs" he jumped up the stairs taking them three at a time.

I walked into the kitchen and curiously lifted the lid off the pan to take a look inside. It was yellow and had bits and pieces drifting in it, it didn't look good at all, oh god, this evening was off a very bad start. But for food that looked so horrifying I had to admit it smelled great, there was most definitely curry in there, but there was something else too, something sweet I couldn't put my finger on what it was exactly.

"No peeking!" Embry said suddenly, startling me so bad that the lid slid from my fingers and clattered loudly back on to the pan.

"Embry! Don't scare me like that!" my heart was still beating rapidly inside my chest. He took a few paces to end up directly behind me and wrapped his big arms around my shoulders, relaxing me instantly.

"I'm sorry babe, but to be fair, you were peeking" he chuckled.

"Yeah, ok, but don't sneak up to me like that again" is said my anger already evaporating.

Dinner turned out to be very nice, the yellow curry sauce was filled with chicken, mushrooms and green beans and served with white rice. Contrary to how it looked and sounded, it tasted fantastic, Embry was a great cook. I didn't know that about him and I loved it that even after all the time we had spend together we were able to discover new things about the other.

After dinner we went up to his room and I was starting to get nervous, I wanted to do this so bad, but I couldn't keep my nerves in check. Before he opened his door, he told me to close my eyes and not to peek, or else. When he gave me the ok to open my eyes again, my thoughts were pushed back out of my brain within moments, he had spread candles throughout his room. Lighting up the room romantically, as the flames flickered a little bit, sending shadows over the walls.

"Wow! That's amazing, you know you didn't have to do that right" though I must admit, it was so cute that he had, I loved those little things and he knew it too.

As I refused to listen to the part of me that was scared, I took charge, grabbing the edge of my shirt and pulling it over my head. I looked at Embry as I threw it to the ground, he swallowed visibly and followed my lead. Then I was subjected to the sight of his bare chest, his dark skin glowing in the moonlight, how could any girl be able to refuse something like that? Well I sure wasn't!

I took four steps, and placed my hands on his abs, running my hands all over him, before working on his belt buckle to get it loose. But with my hands shaking as they were, it wasn't such an easy job, eventually Embry grabbed my hands in one of his and used the other to tip up my head so that I was facing him.

"If you're this scared, we shouldn't do it" he said gently.

"Ugh, I've had it with this shit! I'm shaking from the nerves, not because I don't want to! I told you I did, so stop questioning me!" I yelled at him.

"Ok ok, don't yell at me, I can't help it, I would hate myself if you regretted this tomorrow" he told me sadly.

"Just trust me on this one, I won't ok?" he nodded before releasing his belt and dropping his hands to his sides so I could continue.

The buttons were a lot easier to undo, so within a minute his jeans dropped to the floor and he stepped out of them kicking them aside. He put his fingers through the empty belt loops of my pants and yanked me against him, grabbing my hips firmly as he planted his mouth on mine. My hands ran over his muscles up to his neck, were I held on tight.

His full lips moving with mine in a perfect rhythm, making it unable for me to form coherent thoughts. His kissing was so wonderful, I could never seem to get enough of his kisses. As he tore his mouth from mine and moved to my neck, heading towards my earlobe and biting it slightly, my head dropped back in pleasure. While he continued the magical workings of his mouth and tongue, he undid my pants and let them fall to the floor.

He seized my thighs and lifted them up so I could wrap my legs around his hips, feeling nothing between us besides my panties and his boxers I couldn't control myself any longer and rubbed myself against him. Creating the friction I was so desperately craving, I attacked his neck and his collarbone with my mouth and teeth, nibbling and sucking my way up to his jaw line.

He moved us over to the bed and laid me down, placing himself on top of me, thrusting his hips forward between my legs, making me squirm involuntarily. My bra and panties were gone soon after that, as were his boxers, he hesitated slightly before moving his hands from the outside of my thighs, to the inside, sliding his fingers between my folds.

His talented mouth had moved on to my breasts, where he was caressing my nipples with his tongue, biting and sucking on them in between. My body was reacting to him on its own accord, my back was raised high of the mattress, pushing myself against his face and at the same time my hips were bucking to reach his hand. My hands were gripping his hair, begging him to take it further, which he did just as I thought I couldn't take it anymore.

One of his fingers probed further, while rubbing my bundle of nerves with his thumb, he moved it deeper into me carefully. Nothing had ever entered me before so the pleasure that came from feeling his finger inside me took me by surprise, I moaned loudly as he started working his way in and out of me. I felt the tightening of my muscles as he took me higher and higher, wetness gathering inside me.

His mouth was back at my mouth sucking in my bottom lip as he hovered over me aligning himself with my entrance, he pushed me open further with his fingers before I felt the tip of him moving inside. He kept on moving his mouth with mine, distracting me from any fear I might still hold on to otherwise. At the same time he slowly pushed himself inside of me, passing my barrier as he did, I won't lie and say I didn't feel it, but it was nowhere near as bad as I had been told.

This realization made me relax and enjoy the feel of his smooth velvety skin inside of me, as he started moving again, pulling out almost completely before thrusting back in. My hips were moving with him and together we found a pace that pleased us both, as I started climbing again I felt myself getting frantic under his stead pace and urged him to move faster by using my heels to pull him into me faster.

He got the message and sped up, soon after that I clenched around him, screaming his name as shudders took over my body. He thrust into me a few more times while I rode it out and then I felt him release inside of me, before he collapsed on top of me. We stayed connected as he lay heavily on top of me, but I didn't mind his weight pressing down on me, I loved the idea that I was able to make him so weak. I ran my hand over his back, where his skin was damp from transpiration, I reveled in his usual intoxicating smell mixed with the primal scent of sweat.

After a while he moved off me and pulled me with him as he rolled over, he laid my head down on his shoulder and before drifting off into a deep peaceful sleep, I heard him tell me loved me and I was just barely able to reply to him equally, before slipping into a peaceful darkness.

* * *

**AN: **So, this was nerve wrecking to write, so I hope you liked it!


	26. Truth and healing

**Disclaimer: Twilight is all Stephanie Meyer, I own nothing.**

**AN:** Hmm, not sure how many chapters there still are, but the total will stay below 30! As for Nadira, I can't suddenly decide to make her a carefree, lighthearted person because she simply isn't. Her feeling of responsibility is huge and she can't ignore what she knows is right, hopefully this chapter will be able to give you more insight in her decision.

Something else, I've put the information that was on my profile page in my new forum, it was getting a bit much ;) I'll be adding more info over time, anything else you wanna know, just ask, I'm still not biting!

* * *

Truth and healing

~*~

POV: Embry

~*~

Happy, just so damn happy, I've been awake for a while, and I've had a huge smile on my face ever since. It's ridiculous, I can't seem to stop it, believe me I've tried, what kind of grown man smiles like that. Well apparently I do, cause it's impossible to remove, I don't even think you could get it off using a hammer and chisel.

Last night had been unbelievable, yes I'm still a guy, I'm talking about sleeping with my girlfriend, the most exceptional and beautiful girlfriend ever I might add. Now, it sounds sappy, but I finally truly understood what people meant when they said there was a difference between sex and making love, I could testify to the fact that the difference was in fact huge.

Honestly, no I'm not kidding, everything is so different when you can connect like that with someone you love. Of course I had good reason not to let myself become emotionally attached before Nadira, but I hadn't exactly lived like a monk either. Could you imagine waiting for your imprint, saving yourself for her, to meet her fifty years later?! Nuh uh, that would have been excruciating, so I didn't regret sleeping with other females, but never had it felt so incredible as last night.

Never would I get bored with looking at her, feeling her smooth skin against mine, I let my fingers run over the naked skin of her thigh, up her hip, over her back and shoulder, before settling on her belly. Not meeting a single piece of clothing to offer me resistance, how great it was to have her glorious naked body wrapped in mine.

As I nuzzled in her hair I breathed in her smell, I relaxed pulling her against me, still sleeping she shifted so she could snake her arm around me. She stirred and a smile appeared on her face, she snuggled into me and giggled.

"Good morning little one" it was my favorite nickname for her.

"I thought we established that I wasn't so little anymore?" she asked smiling innocently.

"Nadira, no matter what your age might be, you'll always be my little one" I said kissing her softly.

"Well, as long as I'm yours, I guess I can deal with being a little one" she murmured burying her face in the crook of my neck as she held herself me as tightly to me as she was able to, it felt nice but the way she held me, made me think something was off.

"What's wrong?" I tried to lift her chin, but she wouldn't let go of me, now I was officially worried.

"Nothing, I just wanna stay with you" but she held her face pressed firmly against me.

"Oh come on Nadira, you can't do this to me especially not after last night" how did she think this would make me feel?!

"No no, Em, it's not last night, last night was perfect!" now finally lifting her head, with tears visible in her eyes.

Though I must admit, I felt better knowing she didn't regret what we shared together, I hated it when she did this. A moment ago I had been so happy, but it all went down the drain, as she was clearly struggling with something. Then a light bulb flickered on inside my head, this was the same fucking thin she had been on about two weeks ago!

The thing she would tell me, after things had settled down, well she had two options now, either let it go, or just tell me already! Ok, that was a lie, her only options was telling me, because it was my only option. This was driving me crazy, which was unusual for me, it took a lot to get me irritated, but then again she was my imprint, if anybody else was doing this, I would just shrug it off.

"Nadira, you better tell me this instant what's been bugging you all time, because I simply can't handle it anymore, you promised you would tell me and I need to know now!" and wasn't that the truth.

"I'll tell you, but you must promise me not to freak out, try and see things from where I'm standing" she pleaded.

"To hell with that, I ain't promising you anything, until you're honest with me!" my patience had drawn its last breath.

"Here goes nothing" she sighed.

"Do you remember during training, when Fathiya and I hurt Romy so immensely?" I nodded, who could possibly forget a gut wrenching thing like that?

"She was injured so badly, if we hadn't been able to heal her, she would have died from them. Can you imagine what it would be like to have something like that on your conscience?"

"But you were able to heal her, no matter how bad her injuries, you would always be able to do that" I replied.

"That's not enough Embry, first of all, she'd already felt the pain, in fact it was so unbearable that she actually passed out, secondly, we would not have been able to do anything for her if she had already died. We can't bring people back to life, once they're gone" she said bitterly, I went completely silent, I didn't realize how much she had been thinking about this, how she had been tormenting herself with it.

"Well at least we don't think we can, we don't really know much about ourselves to begin with, other than that stupid story, we have nothing to go on" the frustration was clearly present in her voice.

"So, that day Romy had gotten hurt, was the day we decided we should graduate early" ok, she had lost me now, what did the two have to do with each other, I scrunched up my eyebrows to let her in on my confusion.

"I always wanted to go to college one day, and I still want to keep the option open, so I figured I would need my high school diploma for that" yeah, that was all fairly common, but why early?

"See, I wanted to make sure I wouldn't ruin my future by leaving before graduating" she looked up at me hesitantly.

"LEAVING!? WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!" I roared as I started shaking profusely.

She plastered herself against me, and let her tears fall free, rubbing my arms and back as far as she could reach. She placed kisses all over my neck and chest, desperately trying to calm me or distract me, or maybe both. Thank god, because I was afraid I might have actually phased, with her in my arms. The shaking subsided, now it was my turn to lock her against me, I buried my face in her enormous amount of hair, keeping myself surrounded in her smell, which would in turn keep me from phasing.

"Nadira-" I choked out her name, but there were no words to follow.

"You told me about Sam once, how he had hurt Emily? How guilty he would feel for the rest of his life, but there was nothing he could do to change it?" until now I hadn't seen the similarity between them.

"Well, it's like that for me, but unlike there was for Sam, there's no solution for Fathiya and me. There's nobody here to teach us, to help us, I'm not yet eighteen, who knows what would happen then? I have a need to know what I am, if can be safe around people, I can still feel myself changing" she sighed deeply "I want to be able to help people, not put them in jeopardy. The only way for me to do that, is to go back to where I came from, back to the part of me that is Lebanese" she finished.

Oh hell no, she wanted to go there?! My usual strong reasoning ability flew out the window, all I could think about was her leaving me. Suddenly the images of her in the desert made perfect sense, which meant she was projecting unwillingly. Normally the fact that she was doing that involuntarily, would make me see her point more clearly, but not now.

"You can't leave me, you just can't" my tears were now spilling over, as pain filled my chest.

"I know Embry, I know" she held me close, and let me be.

"This is way I didn't want to tell you, I knew it would hurt you so much, but I can't help the way I feel" she said tormented.

"I'm glad you did" I admitted, true it hurt, but at least the secret was out.

~*~

POV: Nadira

~*~

As I held a broken Embry in my arms, another feeling of the guilt variety swept over me. It was so unfair, no matter what I did, I would end up hurting people. Just look at what I had already done to him, and I hadn't even told him everything. He wouldn't let me go if I did, so it had nothing to do with whether I wanted to tell him or not. Or at least that is what I told myself.

We laid in bed for a while, and even made love again, slowly, lovingly. Embry was concerned I was too sore from yesterday, but I assured him I was fine, which I was. He now understood my problems and thoughts on the matter, and had accepted them, bringing us the relief of peacefulness. During our session between the sheets, we had been telling each other constantly how much we loved one another. We were still bathing in the satisfactory afterglow, when we were rudely disturbed by a loud screaming sounding through the house, originating from the kitchen, I think.

"Embry, Nadira, get your lazy asses out of bed!" Jake's voice boomed.

But before we could make an attempt at dressing ourselves the door flew open, Jake and Nessie were bursting through the door. The sudden intrusion left me gasping, since I was still naked, I hurried to get myself covered under the single sheet that was draped over our bottom halves.

"I'm pregnant, and we're getting married in two months!" Nessie yelled. I jumped up, taking the sheet with me, as I wrapped myself with it. Before practically pushing Nessie to the ground, when I flew at her and hugged her forcefully. Leaving a very naked and very embarrassed Embry, grabbing a pillow to cover his private parts.

"Could you warn me next time you do that!" he hissed through gritted teeth.

"Sorry babe, but it was an emergency" I said still holding Nessie.

"Did you do it?" she whispered excitedly in my ear.

"Nessie, they can still hear you! Now is not the time to discuss this!" I whispered back blushing fiercely.

"Oh come on Nessie, we only have to guess about what happened here tonight!" Jake laughed loudly.

"Well guys, I am happy for you, but we already knew Nessie was pregnant" Embry said smugly. Jake's smile fell, but Nessie threw me a knowing look.

"You saw it didn't you?" Nessie remembered our conversation from two weeks back, when I had reassured her that she and Jake would have children, due to a flash image, which I now knew had been a vision.

"You saw it?" Jake asked a little dumbfounded.

"That's my girl" Embry had apparently forgotten he was 'wearing' nothing but a pillow, since he sat there looking so proud.

"Easy there lover boy" Jake threw back, reminding him of his current state of being severely underdressed.

We spent the day together, just like we used to do, before all the drama started. We had a good time goofing around, having fun doing nothing in particular. Nessie said she wanted Seth to move into Jake's old room after they got married, so Embry wouldn't be lonely. Embry joked that he had me, so he wouldn't be alone, but Nessie and me both knew better. Since he had no objection of Seth moving in, it was easy to convince him without raising any suspicion.

At the end of the afternoon I left, Nessie would be staying, her parents had released her of her lessons. She had other things on her mind now, and it wasn't like she hadn't been schooled enough already, her knowledge was probably the equivalent of a number of degrees on different subjects. Her and Jake would be searching for a house, they needed one now that their family would be expanding.

Before going home, there was a stop I wanted to make, it was a bit awkward since I didn't know them well. But as I said, I wanted to help, and this afternoon as I talked about Sam and Emily an idea formed in my head. Though I had no idea how they would react, but that wouldn't keep me from making my offer. Three soft knocks on the front door and Emily opened the door, looking surprised to see me.

"Nadira?" she asked confused.

"Hi Emily, I hope I'm not disturbing you, but I wondered if I could talk to you?" she nodded and let me in. We sat down in the kitchen, just when Sam came out of the living room.

"Did you want to talk to Sam too?" she asked.

"Yes please, if it isn't too much of a bother" they had three kids to think about.

"Aiylen is sleeping and the boys are still playing in the yard" Sam said, grabbing a kitchen chair for himself and sat down next to Emily, both were now looking at me expectantly.

"Well, I was talking to Embry about helping people and I suddenly thought of you" I hesitated when I saw confusion grow on their faces.

"Maybe you think it's a bad idea, but I wanted to offer, so it's totally up to you" I said, when they remained silent, I went on.

"Well, it occurred to me, that when I heal somebody, no scars remain…" they were getting it now, because I saw their eyes grow wide.

"If you wanted, I could give it a try, I'm not sure if it'll work though" I added hastily.

"You wanna take my scars away?" Emily whispered.

"Only if you want to, I don't know how you feel about that…" I trailed off again.

"You think you could?" this was Sam now, his question was a logical one, and it was so weird but I honestly thought I could.

"I think it will work, but I can't be sure, I've never tried" it was the truth, there weren't many people around here that I could test my theory on.

"I'd like you to try" Emily said suddenly, startling me a little.

"Are you sure about it?" it wasn't like I could reverse it if she wasn't happy with how it looked.

"Yes, it's a bit double, on one hand I don't want Sam to think it's that horrible living with these scars, but the thing that hurts me most, is knowing it hurts Sam to be reminded of it every day of his life" she explained, and it made sense to me.

"Shall I try now, or…" maybe she needed some time.

"Yeah, that way I won't be disappointed if it doesn't work" she looked nervous, Sam was still looking at her in awe, but said nothing.

"Don't worry, it won't hurt, I've been told it tingles" I smiled at her reassuringly.

Then I got up and walked over to her side of the table. Sam eyed me warily, as if he was warning me not to hurt his wife, but I knew I wouldn't, so I wasn't concerned. I placed my hand on the side of her face where the scars were and the other on her shoulder. With my eyes closed I focused on taking her scars, her source of pain, even though it might not be physical and I felt the energy flow through me. A loud gasp made me open my eyes and remove my fingers from Emily, the sound had came from Sam.

"Did-did it work?" Emily asked as she reached her fingers up to touch her face.

"Yeah" Sam breathed, the look on his face was exactly why I wanted to do this, he was still shocked, but a smile was starting to show on his face. That's when I felt a gleam of pride bubble its way up to the surface, showing itself in a wide grin.

"It did?" Emily whispered, she shoved back her chair with so much force, it tipped over as she got up, searching for the nearest mirror. When she'd found one, tears were streaming down the smooth surface of her face, she clutched Sam's hand, who was now standing close behind her.

"Ok, well I have to go, Leah's waiting for me" they needed their moment, and I felt like an intruder sitting there, watching them.

"Nadira, thank you so much" Emily rushed towards me, almost pushing me over when she hugged me.

"You're most welcome" I said to her, before getting out the door.

This is what I was born to do, help people, the thought of my departure didn't seem so gloomy now, while I was away, I would learn to do this, better and for many different people. I would devote my life to aiding those in need, in any way possible. Satisfaction enveloped me, purpose, I had found mine tonight.

News had traveled fast about Emily's miraculous transformation, most people were told the story of laser therapy, which they supposedly had kept secret just in case it failed. Only everybody within the pack circle knew the truth and they were looking at me differently now. A lot of them I hardly knew, but it felt like they had truly accepted me into their family. According to Embry it would have happened anyway, but my gift to Sam and Emily just sped up the process.

~*~

About two weeks after that, a desperate Seth came begging for our help with his imprint, it was Friday afternoon and I was at Embry's, who now shared the house with Jake and Nessie. Seth was struggling with his imprint, well actually, he was struggling to get to know her, since she still wasn't talking to him. I had come up with a few suggestions, but Nessie blatantly laughed them off, assuring Seth he needed to be more aggressive.

He hated Nessie's plan and I thought it to be a bit extreme, but we both agreed that chances of success were higher if we went with Nessie's plan. The idea was for him to drain her car from fuel, and then be her hero coming to the rescue, as Nessie put it. I didn't like it that he would be lying to her, but it couldn't do much harm, so why not.

As he was here already, it was the perfect occasion to ask him about moving in, he seemed willing when we mentioned it, I was very relieved to know that he would be moving in right after the wedding. Jake would have his stuff out long before that anyway, since they would want to use their new home as soon as they got back.

Instead of finding a home, like they had planned to, the Cullen's being the crazy vampire family that they were, decided to build them a house. It was on the reservation, which normally made it harder to acquire the right permits, but with their money, nothing seemed to be a problem. It would be ready before the wedding, since they had hired a ridiculously large crew for the small project of building one house.

Seth had left and was putting the plan into action as we spoke, he was supposed to send us a text as soon as he had succeeded, as had already notified us when she had left ten minutes ago, so we were expecting a call any minute now. But the call never came, even after an hour there was no word from him, naturally we got worried.

And by we, I mean Nessie and me, the guys laughed it off, telling us Seth was a big boy, who could take care of himself. If he wasn't calling, he probably had a good reason for it, they shared a knowing look with each other. Ugh, boys and their dirty minds, well we weren't having it. We persuaded them, with much difficulty, to come with us looking for him. After a long discussion Ness finally convinced Jake to do it by using the argument stress wasn't good for the baby, sometimes I felt sorry for Jake for imprinting on Nessie.

Hours later he turned back on our radar, apparently fine, but with some weird requests to Nessie. We had waited at Sue and Charlie's, since he was coming there, and he did, another hour and a half later. We were expecting an explanation, but he fed us some bogus story about his imprint and her sisters. Nobody called him on his lie, because we knew, if Seth was lying, he would have a damn good reason to do so.

Something was up with Lily, all of us were dying to know what it was, but even throughout the following weeks he wouldn't inform us. He had gone back to depressing Seth, obviously their contact had been brief, and he was now walking the solitary road again. It was heart clenching to see the always so cheery and bright Seth so gloomy and down. I was sure that eventually everything would come out into the open, so I was patiently biding my time.

Graduation was drawing near, as was Nessie's wedding, they were getting married a week after that. Part of me felt sad that I wouldn't spend the summer here and even worse that I wouldn't be here when Nessie would be giving birth to the unique baby that was growing inside of her. She was actually starting to show, Carlisle had been measuring her womb, yes with an actual measuring tape, to determine the rate she was progressing in.

He estimated her pregnancy would last a total of five months, putting her a little over three and a half months. Her due date would be somewhere in September, right along Bella and herself. That seemed so funny to me, as if they had some sort of biological timer, which would put them at fertile during a period of the year. It was nonsense of course, since Bella had only been pregnant for little over a month, but I liked the idea anyway.

Everything was calm and relaxed, and I enjoyed every minute of it that I could, spending time with Embry practically every day. During the weekends we would stay together every minute, I felt like I had to get as much time with him as I could.

* * *

**AN:** It's like half past one at night here, it isn't exactly the most ideal time for writing, but I forced myself to continue until it was finished! I promised you an update, so I'm giving you one, please show me some love in return ;)


	27. One year older and still sexy!

**Disclaimer: Twilight is all Stephanie Meyer, I own nothing.**

**AN:** From time to time I receive some anonymous reviews, or maybe they're submitted without readers being logged on. These reviews mean just as much as all the others, but unlike with those, I can't thank you personally as I usually do. So that's what I'm doing now, thank you so much for reviewing somewhere along the ride, your support means the world to me!

Sorry for not updating sooner, but on top of my busy schedule, the youngest of my boys is really sick. It took me forever to get this chapter out, and I haven't even finished the one for 'Do I Have To Do Everything Myself' yet! I'm getting it up as soon as possible.

I've got pictures up for the three leading ladies of my stories! The link can be found on my forum 'Wolf Craze' under images.

* * *

One year older and still sexy!

~*~

POV: Nadira

~*~

"Come on baby, just tell me" Embry pleaded with a cute pout on his face.

"Well, if I tell you now, it wouldn't be a surprise, now would it" I was leaning on top of him, my face over his, almost touching so close. I leaned in to kiss him, pecking him on the lips lightly before getting up.

"You don't play fair" he whined loudly, getting up and crawling over the bed coming after me.

"Oh, you think it's fair for you to ask me to tell you, what I'm giving you for your 25th birthday?" I asked him innocently.

"It's not like that, and you know it!" he closed the door as I tried to pull it open, pushing me up against it.

He did have a point there, I've been teasing him mercilessly, ever since I had come up with the idea. Now that I had it all finalized, it was becoming more and more fun, I'm evil, I know. But throughout the time I've known him, he's always been the one to torment me, not in a bad way, he always made me laugh. It was just to irresistible to let an opportunity like this pass me by. So as mean as it was, I'd be taking full advantage of it for as long as I could, I decided as I thought back on the last couple of days.

_Stress was eating away in my mind, not even my super early graduation could make me this tense. No, this was all due to my incapability to decide on a good present for Embry's 25__th__ birthday, the first one where he had me as his girlfriend! I had to do something special, but I had no idea what. I shouldn't have given myself to him yet, then I could've been his present, you know wrapped in something pretty… but that chance had passed a while back._

_Ok, think, what would Embry have on his to do list, something he probably never would get to do. He had never travelled, maybe we could go away for a few days, see something special, but not too expensive. After a few months here, Leah and Tom had started giving me money every month, for personal use, I had saved almost every penny of it with my plans in mind. Now that everything was taken care of by the Cullen's, I was free to spend it on Embry, it wasn't much, but probably enough. _

_Then I remembered Nessie telling me that she and Jake had gone on a whale watching tour for a day and had regretted not staying at sea longer. Embry's had lit up at the mention of whales, he'd never even been outside the state of Washington, and loved animals. Most importantly, this was actually within reach. Yes, we'd go on a whale watching cruise, he'd love it! I searched online, until I had found the one I was looking for. _

_We couldn't go before I had graduated, which left us the one week after, right before Nessie's wedding. It was short, but it could be done, the one I'd found would leave the port of Vancouver at 17:00 Friday afternoon and return the Friday after at noon. We could make it if we left right after graduation Friday the 26__th__ of June and be back the day before Nessie's wedding on the 3__rd__ of July._

_It would be the first time we'd go on a vacation, the last time I'd gone somewhere with a holiday in mind was when I was a child. I'd seen different parts of the country, but never with the intention of having fun, so I expected it to be quite the experience for the both of us. I talked it over with Leah, she thought it was a splendid idea, she'd even insisted on letting me use her credit card and consider half of the total amount as a graduation present ._

_Instead of just giving him the ticket, I'd print out the itinerary of the cruise on a huge piece of paper, laminate it, and give him that. He probably wouldn't get it right away, but we'd be able to snap a great shot of him when he did. I'd also seen a party store online that sold a lot sashes, with extremely funny lyrics on them, of course they were meant for women, but I'd make him wear one anyway. _

"You better tell me now… or else" he spoke the last words with a fake threatening tone.

"Or else what?" I challenged playfully.

"Don't say I didn't warn you" he said shaking his head mocking disappointment.

Then he let me have it, running his fingertips over me, hitting just the right spots to make me squeal with laughter. I knew this was coming, he always tickled me beyond sanity, it was easy to do since I was extremely ticklish. I screamed and screeched, but he was relentless, only stopping for a brief moment letting me up, gasping for air.

"How about now huh!?" he asked while holding me up, panting heavily.

"Embry, you can do to me whatever you want" I said with a naughty smile "I'm never giving in."

"Whatever, hmm, I might hold you to that" he said licking his lips.

"Yeah, whatever you want… but not now though, I have to go" I said cheerily, reluctantly Embry let me go.

"It is that I know a very pregnant Nessie is waiting for you, and I know I'll be seeing you later anyway, or I would've just locked you in my room all day" he said with a wicked grin on his face.

~*~

Nessie and I went over to the store I'd seen online, she doubled over howling with laughter as she held one of the sashes in her hands, we were in Port Angeles shopping, since I had hardly any classes during the few weeks before graduation, we were spending a lot of time together.

"Oh my god, Nady, where did you find this?!" her face full of humor.

"I saw it online when I was looking for the cruise, they're good right" I chuckled picturing Embry with a shiny pink sash draped over his large and very masculine body.

"Oh yeah I wanted to ask you, did you finalize the booking ?" I had told Nessie of my plans the moment after I had discussed them with Leah.

"Yeah I did, Leah even insisted on paying half as a graduation gift" I felt guilty about that, but I hadn't been able to change her mind.

"He's gonna love it Nady" she sighed deeply.

"What is it?" she surprised me with her sudden serious look.

"I'm just sad that I'm starting of my life with Jake, on the exact same day you're gonna start your search for yours" I'd been trying to put it out of my mind as much as I could.

"I'm just happy I can be there on your big day, let's not sit around and mope, we're here to have fun" I pulled her towards the register to pay for our selections.

I loved our time together, we'd talk about everything, she even told me that she had a guess about whether her child would be a boy or a girl, and what name she had decided on. Jake would go along with pretty much anything, afraid to stress Nessie in her delicate condition, she happily took advantage of it. Just when she told me that, I had a flash of her and her baby, the little bundle was wrapped in a significant color, telling me what they were having.

"What is it?" Nessie asked when she saw me looking at her startled.

"Nothing important" I assured her, but I had trouble hiding a happy grin.

We'd gone shopping for baby stuff, she wanted to do as much as she could now, while I was still here. But since the house for her and Jake wasn't ready yet, she had everything delivered to the her family's house. We'd bought a cradle and a crib, she was a Cullen after all, an armoire, a changing table and a rocking chair. All done in a dark wooden color, so she would be able to accessorize with color, I told her I'd take care of the bed linens and such.

"Why would you want to do that?" she asked me suspiciously.

"I just have a great idea for it, that's all" there was no way I'd be able to keep that from her if she'd push an plead for me to tell her.

Picking a stroller was so much fun, I never could've imagined it if someone had told me, but it was. Nessie was going through all different kind of types, and there were a lot, grabbing one on occasion and walking around with it, asking me which one looked good on her.

"Are you serious?" I asked her dumbfounded.

"Of course I am serious, which one looks better on me?" she switched to another one again.

"They are strollers, not dresses! And I'm horrible at those too!" I exclaimed.

"Nady, do you have any idea how much it took to convince Alice to let me do my own shopping?!" she hissed at me "you better help me pick the right one, and not let me regret my decision to bring you along!"

"Alright alright, try that one" I pointed at a three-wheeler, she grabbed it and started walking in front of me.

It took us at least an hour and a half, her prancing around behind all different shaped and sized strollers, and after a while I started seeing what she meant by suiting her. The big ones looked weird next to her small fame, a part of me thought I had lost my mind, but I liked the one she picked. It was from a brand called Bugaboo, the sound alone was cute enough to make the choice, though it actually looked good too, she bought a few sets of different colored seats, since the fabric of it was changeable.

The day passed too quickly, though I could tell she was tired, we had dinner plan with the boys, but I wasn't sure if that was a good idea. She looked even paler that usual, maybe she needed blood, that had been an issue lately. She refused to talk about it, but Jake told me that she postponed consuming the red liquid as long as she could.

Which led to very tense situations, of a frantic Jake afraid that she was damaging herself physically, pleading with her to listen to him. She would even hold out on herself until she was on the very verge of fainting, all white and weak, finally giving into her imprint, simply because she couldn't stand to see him like that. I took a leap of faith and asked her about it.

"Ness, you're white as a sheet, maybe you need blood?" I asked cautiously, eyeing her reaction.

"No I don't, you sound like Jake, and one of him is quite enough thank you!" she glared at me through squinted eyes.

"Ok, I just wanted to make sure you're alright, you look tired" I tried one more time.

"I am, but once I can sit down I'm sure I'll feel better, let's just head towards the restaurant ok" she concluded the discussion and answered my question with one sentence.

Ok, this was no use at all, she appeared to be in some sort of denial about who and more importantly what she was. I didn't really understand, what was the big deal all of a sudden, I'd never noticed her having problems with being a hybrid before. But I let it go, she wasn't listening to me anyway and if I pushed the matter it would only upset her.

~*~

POV: Embry

~*~

"You want the steak baby?" Jake asked Nessie casually.

"Now why would you assume that?!" Nessie responded with a very agitated tone, her sudden negative reaction startled him so much his jaw dropped and looked at her wide eyed.

"Well, uhm, I thought, ehh, you usually like steak?" his tone elevated et the end of his sentence, making it sound like a question rather than an answer, obviously scared to set her off.

"Hmm, well not tonight, I'm having the grilled chicken" she had toned down the glare she had been sending Jake after his screw up, not that I knew what the screw up was, but that wasn't the point. just when I thought things had simmered down, Jake did something… ahem, not so smart, to put it lightly.

"Your stubbornness is even worse than that of your mother" he muttered, not loud, but loud enough for even Nadira to hear, so Nessie definitely had too.

"Oh man, why did you have to bring that up" flashes of years back flashed through my mind.

"Excuse me?!" Nessie yelled, heads were turning towards us, silently enjoying the drama that she was creating.

That sort of thing always irritated me, people actually liked it when there were problems, as long as it didn't involve them. All of them, mindless sheep, total suckers for tragedy induced entertainment, it irritated me how much they were having fun with the problems of others, pathetic really.

"Sorry, I didn't mean it, forget I said anything" Jake started back paddling, regretting his words, but the damage had already been done.

"Forget it, I don't think so, you better start explaining now what my mom has to do with anything" Nessie's voice was still very loud.

"Nessie, not here, people can hear us" Jake whispered sharply.

"Ok, we're leaving now than!" she hugged Nadira and apologized to her, then stood up to do the same with me, before striding out of the restaurant.

"Well, you better enjoy your evening, since we're not going to, we'll see you at home" Jake sighed deeply.

Poor bastard, he was in for a rough night, how would you explain to your pregnant fiancé, that you used to be in love with her mother. No way, no how, was that conversation ending well, I truly felt sorry for him, but part of me always wondered why he hadn't told her sooner.

"What was that about?" Nadira asked me.

"Nothing really" I shrugged, trying to put out a casual attitude, but as I looked at Nadira, I could see I was failing horribly.

"Yeah ok, and I'm Santa Clause" she let out some sort of snort "just tell me" she added.

"Ok, but if Jake finds his way out of explaining it to her, you're not gonna say anything, right?" I looked at her through narrowed eyes.

"Fine" she agreed quickly, my guess was that she knew perfectly well chances were very good, that Nessie would get it out of him, in a matter of minutes, so I told her.

"Oh shit! And Nessie doesn't know?" she breathed with a shocked look on her face.

"Nope, but I'm sure she will tonight though" I said matter-of-factly.

"Well, let's give them some time to talk about it before we head home, besides I'm very hungry" she admitted, sometimes I wondered if she wasn't part wolf too, cause damn that girl could eat.

"Yeah, me too" I chuckled.

When it was time for desert, I was having a lot of fun with myself, thinking about her promise from this morning. Nadira eyed me questioningly as I grinned widely. She had ordered vanilla ice cream covered with caramel sauce, and licked her lips in anticipation as the waiter brought it over. Seeing her simple motion, send ripples of desire through my body. I was aware of the fact that I was staring at her in a similar manner as she was eying her dessert. Noticing little else, as she spooned a little bit into her mouth.

"Hmm, this is so good!" she moaned while letting the ice melt on her tongue.

Making me lose all focus when I heard her expelling that sound of enjoyment. I seemed to be losing control of my motor functions, because when I finally looked down, my hand was clenched around the little fork that I'd been holding, squeezing it so tightly, that I saw it's shape had deformed. She had gotten quite cheeky over the last couple of weeks, tempting and challenging me, if she kept this up, I was going to jump out of my skin, literally.

"Let's go, know!" I hissed at her.

"I'm not done yet" she said innocently, batting her eyelashes at me.

"Well hurry up then" I said, urging her to eat faster.

But no, not Nadira, she finished her dessert slowly, tormenting me with every bite she took. I had finished my cake in under thirty second and had already flagged the waiter for the check.

At home we found a sobbing Nessie, she had kicked Jake out and he was now staying with Quill and Mason. Nadira being the good friend that she was, stayed with her for hours, talking with her, reasoning with her, putting a halt to my plans for the night. She had even stayed with Nessie in Jake's room, it took her until the next day to convince her to talk to Jake.

I understood that Nessie needed her, so I waited patiently until she was gone, before I jumped into action. The door had shut, and within an instant I was at Nadira's side, pulling her into the bedroom. my plan was to get her to confess to me, exactly what sort of present she had gotten me. But as she promised, she held ground, never letting slip the slightest detail, so I was forced to wait.

~*~

Today was the day of my party, Nadira had taken care of everything, it was nice having a girlfriend who took care of everything. She was running around in the kitchen right now. Don't get me wrong, I'm not one of those guys who thinks a woman's place is behind the stove, but she was a lot better at organizing than I was. Besides, I got the feeling she liked doing this, or at least that's what she said.

We were practically living together these days, sharing the house with Jake and Nessie, who were doing the same. But there was a big difference, they were engaged and expecting a child, we were nowhere near that stage in our relationship, so this was a big deal. Tom and Leah had loosened the reigns a lot, ever since Nadira's graduation was officially secure, she was just going through the motions until then.

Nadira was satisfied with the results, just before people started arriving. True it was my birthday, and I suppose I should have been enjoying it, but all I could see was her. Moving around in my house like it was hers, completely comfortable with it, I loved it. As the crowd got bigger, she told me she had a gift for me, ah, finally…

"Here you go" she said with a mischievous smile on her face, she was clearly up to something.

"What is this?!" I read the lyrics on the big ribbon I was holding.

"Cute right" she said innocently.

"One year older and still sexy?!" that's what it said, no lie, honest.

"Come on put it on!" she urged me to put it over my head.

"This thing looks like something that would be worn by a miss whatever!" I'm not wearing it, ever!

"Oh Embry, don't you get how true it is, you were sexy last year, and your still sexy now" she purred in my ear, ugh, this woman will be the end of me. She had already won, I felt myself pulling the awful thing over my head.

"You seriously owe me for this one Nady" I said through gritted teeth as I heard my brothers hooting.

"Just think about how I'm gonna repay you later" she winked before turning away from me. All I could do was stare into the direction she had disappeared to, I was so whipped! A moment later she returned, holding an enormous flat package.

"What's this?" I was dying to find out what was inside.

"You didn't think the sash was your real present, did you?" I gave her a confused look.

"What's a sash?" that was women's language, I had no idea what she was saying.

"You're wearing it, smart ass!" she flicked her finger against my chest on top of the ribbon, I was not calling something I was wearing sash!

"Yeah yeah, just hand me my real gift woman" I pulled the giant card shaped thing out of her hands and opened it, not sure what I had just received I looked down at the ridiculously large itinerary I was holding.

"What do you think, you wanna go?" she asked me softly and then I got it.

"Did you book us a cruise?" I asked when I came out of my stupor.

"I did, if you're up for it, we'll leave after my graduation and return before the wedding" she said happily.

I lifted her off the ground and brought her lips to mine, and twirled her around. No wonder she hadn't told me anything, this was the best surprise I'd ever had. We would go on a cruise, just the two of us, it would be perfect!

"Of course I'm up for it, I'd go anywhere with you, you know that right!" I gazed into her eyes " I love you so much!" before she could reply, my lips were on hers again, wishing I never had to let go.

* * *

**AN:** Not much drama, I know, but you deserved some happiness I thought!

Oh yeah, if the school/graduation part doesn't add up, sorry, I really don't know much about the schooling system in the USA.


	28. The beginning of the end

**Disclaimer: Twilight is all Stephanie Meyer, I own nothing.**

**AN:** Here we are with the cruise chapter, after this one there's only one left and maybe an epilogue, but I'm not sure about that, since there will be a sequel. Though I'm not sure when I'll be able to post it, because as some of you may have already noticed, I posted the first chapter of another story called 'Just My Luck!' today.

It's the only story that will not be written within my universe, but as a part a part of the one created by the fabulous yay4shangahi. She has brought to life a lot of characters owned by S. Meyer in a unique way, as well as introduced a lot of us to the many very original characters she has to her name.

To understand mine better, I'd advise to read her wonderful stories first. I'm sure you won't be disappointed, since they are very entertaining and extremely well written, most of them are rated 'M' though, and for good reason.

I hope you'll check out my new story and enjoy on of the last chapters of this one, must warn you, there's intimacy in here!

* * *

The beginning of the end…

~*~

POV: Nadira

~*~

Today was the day, my graduation, Fathiya and I were the only juniors to do so today, Leah and Tom were so proud of me, she's already cried three times this morning, which of course made me cry along with her each time. Fathiya had been on the phone a minute ago, for what had to be at least the fifth time today. She'd be freaking out and backing down, to call back a minute later to let me know she'd still be going with me, only to call again to tell me she didn't want to go after all, that went on for about two hours, until we had to leave.

Graduation was at ten, so we'd be able to make it to Vancouver on time, especially since Embry always drove way too fast. So I wasn't worried about that, but somehow I was feeling very anxious, though I couldn't place it. Not looking forward to spending the day worrying over something unknown, I decided to push it aside for the time being, hoping that it would come to me anyway.

As soon as we arrived, I had come with Tome and Leah since this was a student parent thing, of course others would be there but they came first today, Fathiya took me aside. The poor girl, her eyes were all red and swollen from crying, it was obvious she was freaking out. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw an extremely worried Taylan looking at us.

"Nadira, something is wrong, at first I thought it was about us going, but it isn't, it's something else" shit! She felt it too, it must be big then, why couldn't I see it, I had seen so many things over the last month, why can't I see this?!

"Yeah, it started this morning for me too, I'm tense about something that is coming, but I don't know what it is" she looked at me with big scared eyes, and I saw Taylan coming over.

"What, what is it? Why do you both look so worried?!" poor Taylan, he'd be devastated when we left.

"That's just it, she can't see it either, despite the fact that she has had accurate visions for a while now!" Fathiya told him.

"Maybe I'll still have a vision in time" I uttered, but it sounded more desperate than hopeful.

**~*~**

Graduation went off without a glitch, practically the entire pack was there, which made me very happy. It felt good to be a part of something so wonderful, so tight, hopefully they'd still feel that way when we returned. Over the last weeks more of the human members of our weird gigantic family had come to me for help, little things mostly. But at some point rumor spread wider than the pack circle, that I was a healer, so one of them had brought their granddaughter to me. She was the first person I was so desperate to help, hoping for it, or the attitude that trying hurt nobody went up into thin air. This girl I had to help, I had to heal, there was no other option, so I had called in Fathiya to help me.

The girl had been in a car accident, a few months back, some drunken driver had hit her, leaving her paralyzed from the neck down. This girl was only four years old and had lost her parents in that very car accident, the only one she had left was her grandmother who was having a hard time caring for her at the age of 86. My heart broke for them, and I thanked whoever or whatever responsible for giving us these talents, that Fathiya and me were able to help her.

The girl, Isa, hadn't moved her muscles in months, so she left the same way she had arrived, but we had seen the stirring in her hands and feet, more than that, she felt them again. Afterwards both Fathiya and me had been exhausted, healing took our energy and to take on a case of this magnitude, left us drained. Taylan carried a weak Fathiya to the car and took her home and I passed out on the couch before I could even head for my room.

Because her revalidation would take time and energy, and physical therapy showed slow progress, no one had to fabricate a story. Everyone just assumed that the damage to her spine had somehow heal, so that she was now gradually regaining use of her limbs. Isa had become a big part of my life, the girls happiness was almost infectious, she made everybody that came near her feel good, so I was very happy to see her smiling face and that of her grandmother in the crowd.

With all the excitement the feeling of fear ebbed away, and I figured whatever the cause had been for the unexplainable feeling of dread, had changed course and wouldn't happen after all. After graduation we had a quick celebration lunch, Nessie and Jake were there, as well as Fathiya and Romy along with their imprinted ones and their parents, and it was great. The bags were already packed and had been loaded into Embry's car the night before, so we took off from the restaurant, and headed for Vancouver directly after saying goodbye.

Jake and Nessie drove us with us to Vancouver, since there was hardly any parking space there they would take the car back after staying the night in a hotel, throughout the drive the anxiousness stayed away, so I put the matter to rest when a text message from Fathiya confirmed that they had disappeared from her mind as well. Now I was looking ford to our little sea bound adventure with excitement and pleasure.

~*~

The cruise ship wasn't huge like most, but smaller in order to achieve its goal of getting close to the whales without disturbing them, but big enough to be safe and steady out on the ocean. Our room was beautiful, despite the fact that I had booked a simple state room without balcony, it was yelling luxury from all sides. After settling in we decided to explore before dinner, due to the little time we had to get here, we hadn't had time to stop for food. We had picked up a few sandwiches and stuff during the two bathroom breaks we'd squeezed in for Nessie's sake, causing us to be extremely hungry.

At dinner Embry proved his worth as a wolf, the amount of food he stuffed down, was at least that of four normal human beings. As I saw him wolf down another steak, I was happy that'd I had chosen for the all inclusive package during booking, I hadn't needed clairvoyance to predict that he'd eat a whole lot more than what was paid for. People around us were staring at him from time to time, but more with fascination than anything else, so he was enjoying the attention wholeheartedly.

We concluded quickly that we were one of the youngest couples on board, sure there were some families with kids, but most of the people on the ship were a lot older than us. I had already expected that, but it didn't matter to us at all, we were here to enjoy our time together, we didn't need others to do that. At home we didn't hang with people our age outside the pack circle either, so why would we miss that here, it wasn't like we were the partying kind of people anyway.

Sleeping on a ship turned out to be quite an experience on itself, at first I didn't notice the constant swinging, that probably had something to do with the fact that we hadn't exactly been sleeping, and had been too exhausted to notice when we did. But when I crawled out of bed enveloped with the disorienting dark, I felt my legs wobble underneath me, and I had to struggle to get to the bathroom without stumbling into anything or hitting my head on the doorpost.

The next morning the feeling of being unsteady on my feet disappeared, it occurred to me that the inability to see made my other senses stronger, so I experienced the movements of the boat more intensely. To test that theory I stood still and closed my eyes, and indeed I started swaying along with the ship underneath my feet, it ended in me losing my balance so badly, Embry had to catch me to prevent me from falling down.

There were countless activities on board, but we were content without them most of the time, just being together looking out over the ocean. Though the pool was quite nice, it was indoor because it was way too cold, but it was surrounded by glass walls so you were able to enjoy the view anyway. Around the pool Embry was becoming somewhat of a celebrity, not that he'd noticed any of the looks he was getting though, he had the women drooling at the sight of him, practically devouring him with their eyes.

When I mentioned it to him, he said he didn't care, as long as I was looking at him like that, he was a happy man. According to him, he wasn't the only one gathering fans, but I was absolutely positive that the few appreciating looks I got, couldn't be compared to the way he was admired. But he never even looked at them, his eyes were only for me, it made me feel so special to have a person like him, and I'm not only talking about his looks, care for me like that.

Our cruise experience had truly achieved a new level of perfection at the first whale sighting, they got so close, it was truly phenomenal to watch a mom whale rise out of the water along with her cub. They were huge, much bigger than I'd imagined, but still so graceful as their body's glided through the water, their skin glistening as the sun was reflected by the moist that clung to it. It was a good thing the camera we'd brought was a digital one, because I'd have shot full an entire roll during that first sighting alone.

We were lucky enough to witness a lot more of the magnificent creatures during that week, we had also seen a lot of dolphins, jumping up high out of the water as they swam along with us. It was as if they were enjoying our presence, having fun with the pretend race they were having with the ship, they could outswim us easily since we were traveling at a quiet pace, in order not to disturb the ocean life.

During the cruise we docked in Alaska twice, once up north in Juneau that Monday and then again on the way back in Ketchikan on Wednesday. Those days we enjoyed sightseeing the cities and I had to go shopping of course, demanding we'd take back presents for everybody, just little things, but it was the thought that counted. For Nessie I found the most gorgeous baby stuff in the right color, now Embry knew what they were having too, so I'd made him promise to keep it in the locked vault within his mind during patrols, so Jake wouldn't find out.

Both times we enjoyed a romantic dinner, after it had gotten later and everything closed, since the ship wouldn't leave port until nine. Thursday night was a bit emotional for me, Embry had given me a promise ring, when I saw the box he had me worried that he was going to propose, but he knew me too well so he was able to make sure it was just perfect for me.

As I had been watching Nessie and Jake so happy with their baby on the way, I wasn't shoving marriage and kids away anymore, but right now I wasn't able to promise him anything just yet. But when he asked me to move in together I surprised myself by saying yes, I realized it was what I truly wanted. He was so happy with my enthusiasm, he planned on starting the search for a house next week, while I cursed myself for making it even worse, as if I wouldn't be hurting him enough already.

As you can imagine we had taken advantage of our privacy every night of the week, but this night was special, since it would be my last night with him for a while. My last night I LaPush I wanted to spend with my family, I'd tell them tomorrow, since it wasn't fair to leave them without a word. I would leave a letter to Embry with them, as well as the gifts I had for Nessie, I wanted to tell him so bad, but I was sure he wouldn't let me go if I did.

So the moment he closed the door I plastered myself to him, kissing him as if my life depended on it. I was desperate to fill my mind images of him, the feeling of having him close to me, touching me, inside of me, so I was trying to fill the need I would have for him however long I would be gone, in one night. Surely he noticed that something was off, but he probably expected that it had something to do with the promise ring he'd given me, so he didn't mention it.

The moment he started tugging on my dress, I pushed him back onto the bed and made him promise not to use his hands until I said he could. Slowly I undressed myself, seeing the desire grow in his eyes and somewhere south of there, as I uncovered more and more skin. The thrill of his eyes on me as I dropped each piece of clothing to the floor was absolutely exhilarating while at the same time nerve wrecking, he drank in the image of me as I proceeded.

Up until the moment where I removed my bra that was part of the black set I was wearing, he was quite capable of controlling himself, but the moment I let it slip from my fingers he started writhing on the bed, itching to get closer to me. It was a lot of fun watching him as he was unable to take his eyes off me, seeing his desire plastered on his face so clearly, and the fact that I had this much impact on him felt extremely good.

Finally I decided to put him out of his misery, and join him wearing only my black lace panties, so I crawled onto the bed and settled on his lap, straddling him, feeling him harden between my legs as I presses myself to him. He was looking up at me pleading to permit him to touch me, though it seemed like I had myself under control, I could barely wait to feel his hands on my naked skin, so I nodded slightly.

He didn't waste a second, within an instant I felt him on my thighs, moving upward cupping my behind in his large hands kneading as his face disappeared into my neck, where his mouth was working hard to make me lose my mind completely. I had started to unbutton his shirt, but when he touched me I grabbed it with so much strength, I tore it apart unconsciously, making him chuckle loudly.

"Want me that bad huh?" he smiled at me, showcasing his pearly whites as he did.

"Oh yeah, I want you, bad!" I said huskily.

Ignoring his attempt to lighten the mood and letting that primal need take over, his smile disappeared as fast as it had arrived, unable to deny the fact that my words had surprised him and made him react instantly. He groaned as I let my nails run over his chest forcefully enough to leave long lines along the way, his mouth met mine singeing my lips with his heath.

Frantically I worked on his belt buckle, but when my nipple disappeared into his mouth I lost all focus, instinctively I ground myself to him. Wetness forming between my legs, with the maddening friction we created between us, his breath came out in hard pants as I moaned loudly when he sucked my nipple into his mouth. Surges of electricity ran through me, all gathering at one single point, tightening my muscles consequently, having me quiver with anticipation.

Waiting was no longer an option, I wanted him now, so I lifted myself off him, earning me a loud disapproval from my man. The moment I was of I unfastened his belt and next his pants were hanging open on his hips, he lifted off the bed so I could pull them off. I made sure to take the boxers he was wearing beneath his slacks, came off right along with them, leaving him completely naked.

He hooked his thumbs in my panties, and tore them off me, he inhaled through his nose deeply taking in the scent of my arousal. Now that there was nothing separating I needed him inside of me, so I lowered myself onto him, enveloping him within me. I held onto his shoulders as I set the pace, he grabbed me and pulled me against him so he could bury his face in my hair.

I rode him until I climaxed over him, sending him over the edge as I clenched around him in waves. My mouth moved to his, but no longer in the feverish way I had done before, this time planting sweet wet kisses on his lips. By keeping us connected I was able to feel him stir within me, indicating he was ready for a second round. This time he was the one who wanted to take the lead, so I'd let him, enjoying our love play just as much with him in control.

~*~

The next morning I awoke tired but satisfied, when I glanced at the clock I saw that it was already a bit passed nine in the morning, within three hours we'd be docking and I still had to get ready and have breakfast. Most of the packing I had done last night so it was a relief that I only had to add the things I'd used last night and would need this morning. I rolled around to snuggle into Embry's warmth, immediately his arm came around me, I sighed deeply, waking up like this next to him was as good as it would get. Damn I was going to miss him so much, only thinking about it made me hurt, well I would have to make sure to learn quickly, so I could return to him as soon as possible.

"The week went by way too fast" I said into his neck.

"Nady, I can't wait until we can start living together" he kissed me lightly before pulling me out of bed.

"Come on let's move this into the bathroom" he said grinning wickedly.

We had stayed in there much too long of course, so we had to rush for breakfast, but we eventually made it in time to the docks, all our things safely tucked away in our bags. Nessie and Jake were already waiting for us when we left the terminal, she had grown visibly again, though we had only been away for a week.

Nessie and I slipped onto the backseat as we drove back, so that we could have a private conversation. Just like with Fathiya I had established a mental link with Nessie, I had practiced on it, with the purpose of being able to maintain contact while I was gone. The only thing was that she wasn't able to talk back to me, but if we were close, she could use her gift and talk to me by putting her hand on my check.

I had relayed every detail of our cruise to her, almost breaking down in tears when I got to last night's events, and my response to his question. She looked at me wide eyed at me, but when she saw the guilt I felt reflected in my eyes, she softened and assured me he'd still want to take that step when I came back. With all my heart I hoped it to be true, I hoped that in time he'd understand the path I had chosen.

Our conversation lasted for almost two hours, earning us many suspicious looks from our guys in the front. They knew we were talking, but were probably expecting us to be sharing girly details from the trip, which we had as well of course. The mental link allowed us to share a bit more vividly then we'd intended, so we both ended up with flushed cheeks . Jake and Embry switched places during the ride, neither of them very affected by exhaustion, opposed to Nessie and me. Both of us slept the rest of the way home after our heart to heart. Both totally wiped, all be it for different reasons though.

As soon as we arrived at my front door, Leah met me on the porch, hugging me close. Embry carried my luggage inside, as I went in to kiss hello my little brother and sister. As I looked at the members of my family, I knew I'd break their hearts tonight, but it was because I loved them so much I had to be strong now.

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**AN:** I'd love to hear from you!


	29. Ending one journey, as we start another

**Disclaimer: Twilight is all Stephanie Meyer, I own nothing.**

**AN:** Here it is, the final chapter, it's completely from Nadira's pov, so I can write an epilogue from Embry's pov. I'm sad about ending it, but I want to do it fast anyway, since I now have four running fics, which prove to be more than I can handle. Hopefully I'll have the epilogue up on Saturday.

A poll for the name of the sequel is up on my forum, I'd be really grateful if you took the time to vote!

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Ending one journey, as we start another

~*~

POV: Nadira

~*~

Embry had gone home the moment he'd dropped me off, he didn't make a fuss about it since we had just spent the entire week together . I needed time, time I didn't have, how did we get here so fast, things seemed a lot more doable when we were just planning. Tomorrow was Nessie's wedding day, tomorrow was the day I looked forward to and dreaded at the same time.

Tonight after dinner I would write Embry's letter, I'd been postponing it because it was too hard to do, how could it not be, but tonight was my last chance. Fathiya and I had both packed a small suitcase, which Bella both would send along with the car that would be picking us up tomorrow, it would be there at four, less than 24 hours left, the clock ticking the minutes away.

"Nadira, dinner's ready!" Leah called from downstairs.

I took a deep breath, my hands were shaking so bad from nerves, I had to calm down if I wanted to make It down the stairs in one piece. It was such a damn hard thing to do, my mind wandered back to when I first arrived on LaPush, the strict freakishly young foster parent Leah that had received me, the rest of the pack cautious to let me in.

How they had surprised me over and over again by sticking by me, never giving up on me, they had taught me what it was to be a family, taught me what it was to have people care about you, to care about them. The moment they had met me they had given me a clean slate, held none of my previous offenses against me, eventually they had completely accepted me into their weird, abnormally large, but most of all exceptionally wonderful family.

Part of me thought I had lost my mind, that part practically screamed at me that I had to stay here, with everybody I loved and that loved me, I could just never use any of my talents again. Than the other part reminded me that my loved ones were exactly why getting the proper training was so extremely necessary, then little happy Isa crossed my mind, as if I would be willing to give it up and never ever help a girl like her again, no that would be the most selfish thing I could ever do.

"Nadira?" Leah's soft voice reached my ears and pulled me away from my thoughts, she stood in the doorway looking at me concerned.

"I'm sorry, I was heading down in a minute, my mind just wandered elsewhere for a second" I motioned to get up, but Leah shook her head.

"I thought you would have told us by now" she said with pain streaked words.

"Wha- What do you mean?" my mind was racing, what exactly was she thinking? Did she really know? Or was it something completely different that she meant?

"Oh Nadira, I know you and Fathiya are going to where you're father came from, right after Nessie's wedding. Did you really think I wouldn't find out?" the weight that was pressing down on my shoulders lifted instantly.

"I'm so sorry for not telling you sooner, but I didn't want to hurt you. How did you know?" I really had thought nobody knew, that I had kept it hidden fairly well, but apparently not. If she knew, would Embry suspect something?

"Well after the incident with Romy, I knew you felt so guilty, you'd take steps from preventing it from happening again. The endless conversations about plane tickets and car rides, with what I expect was one of the Cullen's. Yours and Fathiya's sudden urge to graduate early, releasing you from the educational demands that I know you to think of as very important. Aside from that there are a whole lot of other small things that added to the suspicion and eventually confirmation" Leah had listed just about everything that had happened in preparing everything, she had known, but kept quiet, waiting for me to come to her.

"Do you understand why I have to do it, I don't want to, but I need to" I looked at her, wishing that she did.

"I know why you think it's something you need to do, but I honestly think you're overreacting, nothing has happened since the accident with Romy hasn't there?" Leah asked me calmly, but beneath the tranquil posterior I could see her fear of losing me.

"With me no, but something happened with Fathiya, it's so bad she won't even talk to me about it. Besides, I'm scared of something going wrong all the time, what if something scared me in a moment where I was holding one of the babies, and I put up my shield in a reflex, I would send them flying against the wall instantly!" It was hard for me to admit those fears to Leah, but I'd make my point.

Stuff like that were in my mind a lot, it didn't stop me from being close to my brother and sister, but it did mean that I was afraid every single moment I was with either of them. What was worse, it had me thinking about the day where I might be a mom, would I be scared to hold my own child? You can imagine the horror of being afraid of hurting your own child, or the guilt that I would have to live with if I ever were to hurt someone.

"Are you honestly concerned about things like that?" Leah asked me surprised.

"I am, all the time, it's killing me, I can't live like that, I won't!" being who I was could be a beautiful gift to me and my community, but until now it had been a burden to bare, with the occasional upside when I could help someone. I wanted to change that, do good, help people, in order to do that, I needed to be trained by people like me.

"Ok Nady, it's ok" she hugged me tight and for a moment I wished that I could be a little girl, so that I could crawl into her and forget all my worries.

"So, are you ready to come downstairs and tell Tom?" A deep sigh escaped my lips, before I nodded, it had to be done, better do it now.

~*~

It was an hour after dinner and I sat at my desk, writing the letter to Embry, words were finally coming to me. The finality obviously gave me the incentive I needed to put pen to paper, all that was troubling me now, was preventing my tears from flooding the letter as they gushed out while I was writing it. After I had finally finished it, it wasn't that long, but I had to start over at least five times before being able to actually sign a dry one, I folded it and placed in an envelope, on which I had written Embry's name.

Telling Tom hadn't been as easy as my conversation with Leah, he was hurt, sad, but most of all mad, that I could even think about doing something like that, let alone actually planning it. When he threatened not to let me go, Leah stepped in, being the one to reason with him, the one able to calm him down, as always. He accepted it eventually, though he still wasn't happy about it, but after dinner he pulled me into his arms for a big hug and told me that he loved me, that he would support my decision, as long as I was a hundred percent sure.

That was it, I was finally done, I showered for what seemed like an eternity before getting into bed. I lay there awake, unable to catch sleep, well tomorrow on the plane I'd have plenty of time to sleep. While lying in bed, thinking about tomorrow, I felt my sister trying to make contact with me.

"_Faat? You there?" _I asked when I opened the connection.

"_Nadira!"_ Her cry entered my head loudly.

"_What's wrong, what happened?!"_ Instantly I sat straight up, frantically waiting for her to answer me.

"_I told my parents tonight! It was horrible!"_ now I identified her cries as sobs and let myself fall back down onto my pillow.

"_Yes, Leah and Tom weren't happy about it either" _my words were said as I sent them to her.

"_But it's different for me Nady, they don't know! They kept asking me if I wasn't happy with them, if they had done something wrong, they just don't understand why I would go searching for my family there, if I am happy with the one I have here. Thankfully Romy was there to help me talk to them, but I know they're still blaming themselves!"_ her words were drowned out by tears as she finished.

Poor Fathiya, I had never stopped to think about her parents, since she couldn't tell them the truth, she must have told them she wanted to look for her family over there. A few months back, right after the wolves had killed him, we had told them that we shared the same father. So the story of her and me going to see our family made sense, after all I really did have relatives who still lived in Lebanon.

With Romy physically with her on the other end, while I talked to her in my mind, we managed to calm her down together. Being exhausted by the time our connection broke, I fell asleep at two in the morning. Shreds of dreams disarrayed trough my mind during my unconscious hours, Embry's face, Nessie's wedding, Tom, Leah and the twins, all came flashing by as our final moment came creeping closer.

~*~

When Nessie came walking down the aisle she looked magnificent, she was radiating happiness and appeared to be floating in her floor length dress, which looked beautiful on her. Her eyes were one Jake's and his didn't leave hers as she approached him slowly, a tinge of envy swept through me. They looked so happy, taking the plunge together, with their baby on the way, Ness was now clearly showing, but is still wasn't as big as I would expect to see one a women halfway through her pregnancy.

The vows were simple and as they promised themselves to the other, I couldn't help but lock eyes with Embry, who stood behind Jake as the best man, while a single tear escaped me, as maid of honor I stood very close to Ness. Besides Embry, Quill was also standing up for Jake, they were his best friends and had been so ever since they were kids. The second bridesmaid was Claire, she was only eleven years old, but she looked beautiful and stood next to me, perfectly realizing just what a cute picture she made.

As we followed them back down the aisle, Embry took my hand and squeezed it lightly, whispering in my ear that he loved me. Trying to keep these moments to last forever, I clung to him and told him that my heart was his and forever would be. It took a lot of restraint not to kiss him right here in front of everybody, while we walked out of the tent where the ceremony had been held, and headed over to the one where the reception would be.

It was already two o' clock, how was it that the time seemed to speed up whenever you wanted to slow it down most? Most of the time I stayed close to Embry, trying to tell him exactly how much me meant to me, without raising suspicion. But around three thirty it was time to face the music, I'd danced with both Tom and Leah and said goodbye to them, I had kissed each of the twins one more time.

Nessie came over requesting my services as a bridesmaid to help her get changed, it was our cover, that way Embry wouldn't come looking for me. When I saw her approaching, I couldn't resist, and kissed Embry and poured every emotion I had into it, the intensity was enough for him to realize something was wrong. He eyed me questioningly as I walked away with Nessie, but let me go for now, Fathiya was asked along for assistance, since Claire was too young to be any help anyway.

In the back of the tent there was a small tent attached where Nessie would change into the clothes she would be wearing when they'd leave on they're honeymoon. But along with her stuff, there was a set of clothes for both Fathiya and me as well, we all changed in silence, not knowing what to say at a time like this. Just when we were ready, Bella rushed in holding two packages in her hands and she handed us one each.

The packages turned out to hold photo albums, personalized for each of us, pictures inside of those who we loved most, it was a beautiful gift we were utterly grateful for. Then it was time to say goodbye, the car was waiting for us on the parking lot close to first beach, where the wedding was held. As I hugged Nessie, I thought it was the perfect time to give her a gift of my own, so I whispered in her ear what she was having in two and a half months. Her eyes grew wide and she held me close one last time, and finally let me go with tears in her eyes, as we headed over to the parking lot.

~*~

During the car ride both of us felt sedated somehow, like reality hadn't set in yet, we held each other's hands and waited for the moment when it would strike. It wasn't until we were up in the air that it did, first it were a few tears running over our cheeks, but soon we were sobbing into each other's arms. It took us a while to calm down a bit, but from time to time during our long flight, one of us would burst into tears, while the other held on tight.

When we landed to transfer onto another plane we had to wait, the perfect occasion to contact home as we promised we would. Fathiya had worked on a similar connection with Romy as I had with Nessie, with the difference that they'd been able to reach a lever where they were able to communicate with each other, whereas I hadn't been able to hear Nessie without the help of her gift.

As I focused and reached out to Ness, she responded instantly, I could feel her there, sense some of her emotions but nothing specific despite my efforts, I still couldn't hear her. Eventually I settled on telling her that we were ok and that I was sure that soon I would be able to hear her, before I broke the connection again.

Fathiya had talked to Romy, everything was ok back in LaPush, sure there had been panic, but apart from a devastated Taylan, things had calmed down after it had become clear what had happened. Our second flight was announced over the intercom, and would start boarding right now, so we headed over to the gate. The second flight was shorter and on a smaller plane, both of us slept through most of it, due to exhaustion from all the emotions that were consuming us.

Instead of exiting the plane into a terminal, we landed onto a huge asphalted space, where the stairs were attached before the doors were opened, a blistering heat pressing down on us the moment we left the air conditioned cabin. We scanned around to take in our surroundings, before getting into one of the bussed parked close to the airplane. They would take us to the airport, which was a ride that took at least twenty minutes, but then the actual airport came into view.

We went through the motions of claiming our baggage at the conveyor belt, passing through customs and searching for a sign holding our names when we came out of the arrival hall. We spotted the immaculately dressed driver in full costume, he welcomed us into Syria and took our suitcases, as he guided us to the car, which turned out to be a limo.

Under other circumstances we might have enjoyed the lavished interior and luxury, but now it was a wasted effort. We ate during the drive that lasted a few hours, since we were absolutely famished, it's true what they say about airplane food, it's disgusting, and slept during the rest of it.

When the car slowed down and eventually halted completely, the door was opened instantly. A face that held much resemblance to ours peered in smiling widely. As we stepped out of the car, we were welcomed by at least a dozen girls and women, with varying ages, but all bearing the same physical characteristics.

Each of us received a hug from every single one of them, no words sounded during the meeting of sisters, since they spoke a language we didn't understand and neither of them spoke English. The guided us to a small house, with one bedroom for the both of us, and left us to get settled. Despite the fact that neither of us had ever been here or met these people, we somehow felt at home instantly.

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**AN: **Not as long as usual, I know, but I wanted to leave their experiences there for the sequel, so this is where I decided to stop. Hope you liked it!


	30. Epilogue

**Disclaimer: Twilight is all Stephanie Meyer, I own nothing.**

**AN:** This is the epilogue from Embry's pov, it's short so I decided to give it to you early. Despite its shortness I think it includes everything you need to know, so I hope you'll enjoy the ending of this story!

Everybody who's interested in reading the sequel, heads up! I'll add an author's note to Blossoming as soon as the first chapter of its sequel is up, so all of you who have this story on their alert list you will be notified instantly once I've started posting!

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Epilogue

~*~

POV: Embry

~*~

Nadira stood straight across me as I waited next to Jake, for his bride to take her place next to him, she was looking at Nessie who practically glided towards us, her eyes locked with Jake's. Now I realize that sound gooey, but that's what it was like for those of us who had an imprint connection. I would gladly take Jake's place, if it was my sweet Nady walking down the aisle, ready to take me as her husband.

Sure Nessie looked good, being pregnant suited her, but she wasn't nearly as gorgeous as my imprint, now wearing a simple purple bridesmaids dress. She was the most beautiful creature I had ever laid eyes on, and I wondered what she would look like when my baby grew inside of her. She wasn't in any rush and I could pretend to like it that we weren't weighed down with the responsibility of raising a child. But the truth of it was that if she told me she was ready for a kid tomorrow, we'd start trying right there and then.

While Jake and Nessie took their vows, Nadira and I shared a moment, and I hoped that it wouldn't be long until we would be joined for the rest of our lives. We would start looking for a place to live next week, hopefully we'd find one fast, cause I couldn't wait to wake up next to her every morning, like we had on the boat. We'd had the best time on our little cruise, seen beautiful things, had a lot of fun, and spent every single minute together.

During the reception I held her close to me, we danced, we kissed, we talked to a lot of people, but she remained by my side. She left once to dance with Tom and even Leah, they had become her parents in every way, it was great to see how much they all loved each other. Of course she had duties as a bridesmaid, so when Nessie came to ask for her help getting changed, her reactions surprised me to say the least. She was suddenly holding on to me very tight and then she kissed me in a way she would never kiss me in front of all these people, and when she pulled away she looked so sad, it didn't fit at all.

Unease swept through me and refused to leave, however much I reasoned with myself, nothing was wrong, what in the world could be wrong. But the way she had kissed me nagged at me relentless, it was almost as if she were saying goodbye, but that was ridiculous, where would she go. Fear started growing in my chest as I felt the pull to her get stronger, something was most definitely wrong, but what could I do, march into the small tent where Nessie was changing?

So I waited and waited, by the time Nessie finally emerged, I thought I'd lose my mind. Now that she was done Nadira should be here somewhere as well, maybe I've missed her coming out of there, so I started scanning the faces throughout the tent. My eyes told me what my heart already knew, Nadira was not amongst the people here, where the hell was she then?! Quickly I headed towards Nessie, the look on her face told me she knew more about this, I glared at her angrily.

"Why are you looking at Nessie like that man?!" Jake noticed how I had been loving at her and demanded an answer.

"If you must know Jake, I was wondering if she knew where Nadira was" Jake's irritation was obvious, he probably thought I was exaggerating and couldn't stand to be without my imprint for one second.

"She's not here" Nessie spoke softly, but since she was surrounded by werewolves we all heard her perfectly clear.

"Of course she isn't, don't you think I would have found her by now if she was" I was so angry, was she really telling me what I already knew, I needed to find out where she was, not where she wasn't.

"Fathiya isn't here either" Taylan's look just about mirrored my own, everyone else's was confused, except for Nessie's.

"They left, they're gone" Nessie finally said, my mind started spinning, what the hell is going on here?! They left where to?! And why?!

Soon we were surrounded by people with sympathetic looks on their faces, obviously Nessie wasn't the only one who knew what was going on, Leah pressed an envelope with my name on it, in my hands, and told me she was sorry. As I recognized Nady's handwriting my throat clenched and my breathing became labored, I ripped open the envelope and read.

_My dearest Embry,_

_If you're reading this, it means I'm already gone, I'm so sorry that I have to tell you like this, but I didn't see another way. Remember how we once talked about me going back to the Middle-East to learn about myself, train with others like me, so I wouldn't have to be afraid of hurting anyone? _

_That is what Fathiya and I are going to do now, we located a group of women like us and that's where we'll be until we've finished training and are able to return to LaPush fully in control of our gifts._

_Please don't think I left because of you in any way, for you hold my heart within your hands until the day I return, since it belongs to you and forever will. Leaving was the hardest thing I ever had to do, but I had no other choice, I hope you understand that._

_I will come back to you if you'll wait for me, but if not I'll accept my loss and wish you all the happiness in the world, you wouldn't deserve anything less than that. You've saved me, fixed me and I will forever be grateful to you for being there for me always. I love you with every fiber of mu being, our future is yours to choose._

_Forever yours,_

_Nadira_

Clenching the letter in my fist I ran outside desperate to catch her before she left, but her scent was so faint, she had been gone for way too long to be able to catch her. I dropped down on my knees in the sand and screamed at the top of my lungs, as I realized she had really left me and I had no idea when she would return. My world collapsed, what would I do without her, I needed her so much, she was like the air that filled my lungs to breath, without her I would suffocate.

The first three weeks after she had left I stayed out at the cliffs, if it weren't for Leah bringing me food and demanding I ate it as she was there, I would have starved. Eventually I returned home and started working at the garage again, but I was nothing but an empty shell, I went through the motions without being fully aware of what I was doing. But since I was no longer starving myself, nobody dared to complain about it, sometimes I heard them whisper that I'd get over her, but knew I never would.

What made me really angry, was finding out that Nessie was communicating with her, it wasn't until two months after she had left that I found out. Nessie and Jake had been forcing me to spend an evening and a dinner with them every week. During one of those dinners she suddenly went completely quiet and closed her eyes, right in the middle of dinner, she completely freaked me out, afterwards she told me about her mental connection with Nadira.

I completely lost it then, Jake had to restrain me to keep me from attacking Nessie, which afterwards I felt really guilty about, and apologized abundantly. But it did hurt like hell to know that she was able to hear my little one inside her head, while I never could.

~*~

Eight months, eight fucking months she's been gone, and not a single word from her since! Sure Nessie keeps me informed, sort off, on how she's doing. She's always telling me the same thing though, that she misses me terribly and that I have to be patient, if she misses me so damn bad, why isn't she coming back to me then?! But even when Nessie gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, she didn't come back, when I was so sure she would.

My depression had reached an all time low, instead of getting better, I got worse, from what I heard, Taylan was no better off. A loud screaming caught my attention, Isa the little girl that Nadira had healed last summer came running towards me, she had regained full use of her arms and legs exceeding the doctor's expectations.

Nadira had asked Leah to take on her role in the period she couldn't be here, so the little girl spent a lot of time at the Istaqa's and she was extremely fond of the twins, who were now almost a year old.

"Nadira! She's coming home!" she yelled before reaching me.

I slapped myself hard to make sure I wasn't dreaming, trust me it wouldn't be the first time, but Isa stayed within my eyesight and looked at me confused, before she repeated herself.

"Embry, didn't you hear me? Nadira is coming home, she landed an hour ago and will be here soon!"

* * *

**AN:** That was it dear readers, I would love to hear from you all one last time, even if it's just to say you were following the story ;) Thank you all for the support, kind words and everything else I didn't mention, along the way! They were greatly appreciated :)

X Rima


	31. AN: Sequel!

Sequel …

So, my dear subscribers, a lot sooner than I had anticipated, I'm announcing the official start of Desert Rose, Blossoming's sequel!!! *doing happy dance*

I'm totally psyched about it, especially since I've been able to post it a week ahead of schedule ;) Can't wait to hear what you think!

Lots of love, Rima


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